Infectious diseases in Croatia in 2010

Sa？etak The Epidemiology Service of the Croatian National Institute of Public Health brings an overview of the epidemiological situation in Croatia in 2010 based on national communicable diseases notification network, outbreak reporting network and vaccination coverage surveillance network data. The epidemiology situation in 2010 was assessed as rather favorable having in mind the following: diseases of poverty, pore sanitation and low education (typhoid fever, shigellosis, and hepatitis A) were rare and sporadic. Diseases included in the national mass immunization program were completely depressed (measles, rubella, mumps, whooping cough, tetanus) and even eliminated or eradicated (diphtheria, poliomyelitis). AIDS incidence remained low and stationary twenty five years since the first registered case. Classical sexually transmitted diseases, gonorrhoea, syphilis were under control, showing low incidence. However, the situation can also be assessed as potentially unstable, owing to certain potentially risk factors such as locally insufficient sanitation especially regarding waste disposal, still present war damages, postwar migrations, migrations related to economic, tourist reasons, etc, as well as a globally increased risk of emerging and reemerging diseases. In addition there were 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 other developed countries