NORRBOTTEN, Sweden, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A court in Sweden has authorized police to round up eight people in a far northern town and force them to be tested for a sexually transmitted disease.
Eleven residents of Norrbotten have repeatedly ignored requests, summonses and police visits to advise them of their obligation to be tested for Chlamydia, the Swedish news agency TT reported Wednesday.
The situation was referred to an administrative court that authorized the forcible examination of eight of the residents under Sweden's Communicable Diseases Act.
The act allows for the use of forcible means to ensure control of infectious diseases, the report said.
During the first half of 2010, 17,253 cases of Chlamydia were reported to the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control.
Health authorities said four people contract the infection each hour in Sweden.
