As part of the Zagreb Forum, the public was introduced on June 7 to a WHO publication with results of international research “Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2001/2002 – HBSC”.  This survey has been run in Europe, Canada and the United States since the mid-80s with 36 countries and regions taking part in it now.  Croatia conducted it first in 2002.  The survey included more than 162,000 children aged up to 11, 13 and 15 years, covering many areas of children’s health behaviour in social context.  Namely, it looked at social inequality, family setting, peer relationships, nutritional habits and perception of own body, physical (in)activity, cigarette smoking, drinking, marijuana use, sex behaviour, school experience, violence and injuries. 

The survey provides an insight into the complexity of behaviour and the risks for youths, also revealing sex- and age-related differences.  It also describes Croatia’s position in relation to other countries and stimulates thinking what we can, want and must do for the future of our children.  Project team members Pr Marina Kuzman, ScD, Dr Iva Pejnovic Franelic, Dr Ivana Pavic Simelin and Mr Mario Hemen presented the results.

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

Forty-one countries were represented at 10^th Wolfheze Workshops on Tuberculosis Control in Europe held at The Hague and organised by WHO, International Union for the Fight Against Tuberculosis and Dutch Royal Institute of Public Health.  Drs Aleksandar Simunovic and Vera Katalinic-Jankovic from CNIPH represented Croatia.  The workshop consisted of two parts.  The first was devoted to the organisation and strengthening of the laboratory network within individual countries and to the role of supranational laboratories in this area.  All main aspects of co-operation between national and supranational laboratory networks were in the focus with special reference to the implementation of quality control in the testing for antitubercular susceptibility.  A declaration was passed on the role of laboratories in controlling tuberculosis that is to be submitted to the health ministers of all countries participating in the Workshop.  Some declaration aims are ensuring transparent financing of TB laboratory diagnostics, obtaining administrative and technical support from the government of the country concerned, and defining the role of national reference laboratories in improving the operation of national laboratories in accord with the country’s needs.  It also aims at supporting the development of diagnostic tests for the early detection of tuberculosis and uncovering resistance.  At the second stage, attention focussed on collecting data about the trends of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Europe, use of molecular biology methods in the gene typing and clustering of resistant tuberculosis, and on updating the recommendations for monitoring outcomes of the treatment of tuberculosis.  The representatives of EuroTB, a network that grew from a tuberculosis-monitoring programme in Europe, suggested an activity programme until 2007 despite all the difficulties attending their project financing.

A WHO- and Polish National Institute of Public Health-organised “WHO International Training Course on Salmonella and Campylobacter – level 3”  took place in Warsaw on 26 April-2 May 2004.  On the part of CNIPH, D. Perkovic, MSc and B. Aleraj, MSc from the National Centre for Salmonella, respectively Epidemiology Service attended it.  It took the form of lectures and workshop activities.  Microbiologic workshop included a practical in salmonella typing by use of the PFGE (electrophoresis in a pulsating field) and campylobacter identification using the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method.  The PFGE method has been accepted for eight years now as the “golden standard” in the typing and epidemiologic surveillance of salmonella.  For its part, the PCR method is indispensable for full campylobacter identification, because serotyping has failed to produce the desired results. 

HEALTH ECOLOGY SERVICE
- Head, Krunoslav Capak, MD, MSc

Dr Zrinka Petrovic attended a 3-week course “Communication with the Public” at The Hague, Netherlands.  It was organised by the Netherland’s Government Academy for Communication and Information.  This programme gave an excellent insight into techniques for communicating with the media and the public, namely methods to organise and stage campaigns, evaluation of communication with the media, elaboration of communication strategies, media training, as well as providing a practical in different communication skills.  There were 50 participants from 12 countries, some of these coming from the new EU countries, and some from the candidate countries.  Other attendees from Croatia were Ms Iva Gotovac, of the Ministry for European Integration staff, and Ms Sandra Puhovski, a media adviser at the prime minister’s Office of Economy.

The Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health organised by WHO took place in Budapest on 23-25 June under the motto “The Future of our Children”.  The motto, main and accompanying documents as well as attendant events were all aimed at improving the protection of children as the most vulnerable group from noxious environmental factors.  Parallel to the ministerial conference, a meeting of the NGOs concerned with environmental protection called Healthy Planet Forum and a so-called Youth Parliament were taking place.  At the latter, young representatives of the European region countries passed their Declaration.  Key documents of the Conference were the Ministerial Declaration and CEHAPE (Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan) or Action Plan for Environment and Children’s Health.  Four priority objectives for the forthcoming period were formulated by the Action Plan: ensuring the accessibility of safe drinking water; preventing injuries and accidents; reducing child morbidity and mortality as consequences of air pollution; reducing the risk of diseases and disability due to toxic chemicals, deleterious physical and biological factors and other adverse conditions during pregnancy, childhood and adolescence.  The conferees undertook to draw up and implement national action plans and report to the Interministerial Conference in 2007.  Other major documents produced by the Conference were “Housing and Health”, “Climate and Health”, “Information and Indicator Systems for Environment and Health” etc.  The Congress was attended by health ministry representatives Professor Velimir Bozikov and Dr Krunoslav Capak, representatives of the Ministry for Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Building Industry and by representatives of Croatian youth organisations.