At the invitation of Croatian Diabetic Societies Association, Pr V. Hrabak‑Zerjavic attended an open thematical forum marking the World Diabetes Day.  This year it ran under the slogan "Diabetes - equal care for all".  She participated in the subtopic 'sociomedical indicators of health and diabetes' held on 13 November in Zagreb.

In her capacity of national coordinator, Pr V. Hrabak‑Zerjavic attended the 14th meeting of Southeast Europe health network coordinators on 23-25 November in Durrёs, Albania.  Its focus was on strengthening mental health care in the community and on the pandemics preparedness plan. 

Organised by the European Coalition of Oncologic Patients a gathering took place in Ljubljana on 3‑5 November named „United Against Cancer“ CEE Cancer Patient Summit 2006.  It warned of the deterioration in cancer mortality and cancer survival trends over some past 20 years in the new EU states from Central and Eastern Europe compared with other parts of the EU.  For most part, these unfavourable trends are a result of avoidable risk factors such as smoking, drinking, improper nutrition, lack of organised screening programmes, and of inadequate diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities.  Application of currently available knowledge of the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment could substantially reduce differences within Europe in cancer incidence, mortality, and survival rates.  The conferees signed up the so‑called Warsaw Declaration, calling for investments in the development of national cancer prevention plans, and provision of effective treatment, rehabilitation, and care to all oncology patients in Europe without discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, race, or economic status.  It also requires that patient representatives have a share in the decision‑making on health policies and health care.  The gathering was attended by Ariana Znaor, ScD.

SOCIAL MEDICINE SERVICE

- Head, Pr Urelija Rodin, MD, MSc

A Working Group on Drug‑related Deaths and Mortality among Drug Users met on 16‑17 November in Lisbon at a symposium organised by EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction).  It dealt with the key mortality indicator for drug users.  Representatives of 31 countries plus 9 visiting experts attended.  Croatia was represented by Dr Tanja Coric.

The main subject covered the chief problems encountered in standardising the methodology of gathering data about the cause of death linked with narcotics and with the death of psychoactive drug user.  There were examples from the different countries that have already applied the EMCDDA‑recommended rules and standards to calculate the most realistic number of deaths due to or linked with narcotics.  The meeting aimed at prompting any country having joined the project this year to accept the new coding guidelines on the causes of opiate drug‑related deaths.  The guidelines concerned are those whose implementation should start as of January 2006, according to WHO (Update Reference Committee ICD‑10) recommendation.  Another presentation described the mode of operation devised for a Special Mortality Registry (Austrian special registry for mortality), designed to cover the data on the causes of death in psychoactive drug addicts whose death was due to a narcotic.  The debate pivoted on whether countries actually have a data quality control mechanism for causes of death and how it operates in view of EMCDDA recommendations and psychoactive drug‑related deaths.

MICROBIOLOGY SERVICE
- Head, Prof. Dr Gordana Mlinaric-Galinovic

Dr Vera Katalinic‑Jankovic attended the "5^th Annual Meeting of the Subgroup on Laboratory Capacity Strengthening (SLCS) of DOTS Expansion Working Group and the Supranational Reference Laboratory Network" taking place on 4‑8 November in Paris.  Introduction of Dr John Riederhof as the new SLCS chairman, announcement of a "core group" foundation,  passing of the 2007 working plan (which subsumes the strengthening of the TB laboratory network in the world) and continuation of "tool" development for uniform staff training in germ microscopy, culture and sensitivity testing were the main points on this year's main agenda.  Also debated were the quality control (QC) schemes for fluorescent microscopy.

At the Medical College Zagreb on 6 November, Tatjana Vilibic Cavlek, MSc, delivered her inaugural lecture "Hepatitis viruses" on this subject.  At the same college on 13 November, B. Hunjak, MSc, delivered her inaugural lecture "Antimicrobial therapy: testing the sensitivity to chemotherapeutic substances".  By decisions of the commissions present, they will be proposed for the teaching vocation of lecturer at the Chair of Microbiology, Medical College Zagreb each.

As the respiratory infections season began, Virology Department launched two campaigns at the end of this month, thus allocating a fund from Croatian Institute of Health Insurance to the screening for respiratory viruses in the population.  The campaign against childhood respiratory viruses is a beneficiary of the funds for the identification of adenoviruses, parainfluenza viruses, and respiratory syncytial viruses from children's clinical samples.  The funds approved for the influenza virus campaign will be allotted to the identification of such viruses from the respiratory samples collected from the general population.

Organised by Croatian Medical Chamber and by Croatian Medical Association, and run by Croatian Society for Infectious Diseases there took place on 25 November in Split a continuing education course named “Does Avian Influenza lead to a New Influenza Pandemic?”  For National Centre for Influenza, Virology Department, CNIPH, Dr V. Drazenovic spoke on the present situation, "bird flu" threat, neuraminidase inhibitors, immunisation and other aspects of topical interest.  The course drew a very large attendance, witness more than 180 physicians from the Splitsko‑Dalmatinska County.

Owing to live interest, new courses of continuing education under the same name will be organised in 2007 for health‑service staff of pharmaceutical background.  We will give detailed information with new timing as soon as this has been set.

As part of the WHO preparedness programme for possible influenza pandemic, a working meeting of European National Centres for Influenza took place in Belgrade on November 27‑30.  Also participating in it were other services of vital importance for the public health activity of each country.  In view of the increasing likelihood of a pandemic, this workshop focussed on coordination and intensification of the collaboration between veterinary, epidemiologic and laboratory services, as well as on the need for more intensive communication with the media, political authorities and the health ministry.  WHO's Croatian National Centre for Influenza was represented by Dr V. Drazenovic.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICE

- Head, Krunoslav Capak, MD, MSc

A CARDS project named "Strengthening institutional capacities in areas of agriculture, live animals and foods", carried out in Croatia from April 2005 to December 2006, is completed.  Through it the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Croatian Veterinary Institute, and Croatian Food Agency received support for promoting the food safety system and for harmonising it with the EU legislation.

Some products resulting from this project are:

1. Draft national food safety strategy

2. Institutional and administrative strengthening of the facilities responsible for implementing this strategy

3. Harmonising the legislation in priority sectors

4. Strengthening the official laboratory network.

Project collaborators from the EU were Instituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise «G. Caporale», of Teram, Italy, Italian Ministry of Health, Agrieurope Scrl, from Rome, Italy; and Pesticides Safety Directorate, DEFRA, from York, Great Britain.  As to project partners from Croatia, they were the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Croatian Food Agency, Croatian Institute of Veterinary Medicine, and Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH).  The CNIPH staff took part in a range of Project activities, especially the elaboration of the Situation Analysis and of the Draft Food Safety Strategy.