Professional paper
Infectious diseases in Croatia in 2009
Borislav Aleraj
; Hrvatski zavod za javno zdravstvo
Abstract
An overview and assessment of the current epidemiological situation in Croatia in 2009 is presented by the Epidemiology service of the Croatian National Institute of Public Health, based on the national communicable diseases notification network, outbreak reporting network and vaccination coverage surveillance network data. The situation is assessed as rather favorable having in mind the following: diseases of poverty, pore sanitation and low education (typhoid fever, shigellosis, and hepatitis A) are rare and sporadic. Diseases included in national mass immunization program are completely depressed (measles, rubella, mumps, whooping cough, tetanus) and even eliminated or eradicated (diphtheria, poliomyelitis). AIDS incidence remains low and stationary twenty four years since the first registered case. Classical sexually transmitted diseases, gonorrhoea, syphilis are under control, showing low incidence. However, the situation is also assessed as potentially unstable, owing to certain risk factors like locally insufficient sanitation especially regarding waste disposal, still present war damages, significant migrations postwar, economic, tourist etc, as well as a global increased risk of emerging diseases like pandemic flu etc. In addition there are potential risks connected with international traffic combined with global warming, causing current widespread of new mosquito species Aedes albopictus capable of transmitting several tropical viral diseases like dengue, chikungunya etc. in a number of European countries including Croatia. Therefore, further systematic work on implementation of all preventive and control measures is essential, in order to maintain and improve current favorable situation, which makes Croatia fully comparable to developed countries.
Keywords
infectious diseases; surveillance; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
66641
URI
Publication date:
30.12.2010.
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