At a
press conference at CNIPH on September 15, 2004, a manual “Taking
Care of Health – Diabetes and Me” (in Croatian) was promoted
devised primarily for newly detected cases of diabetes. It was
prepared under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare of the Republic of Croatia with the support of the Croatian
Institute for Health Insurance. Croatian National Institute of Public
Health in collaboration with Croatian Union of Diabetic Societies is
its publisher. In order to present the manual and its use
instructions, several symposia for health workers will be organised in
several towns across Croatia. Afterwards, CNIPH will make an
evaluation of the manual’s application via a questionnaire for the
physicians and patients who have received the manual.
September 26, the World Heart Day was marked by an appropriate
promotional event at Jarun, in Zagreb. This consisted in giving medical
advice for healthier lifestyle, blood pressure measuring and other
educational and entertaining activities. To mark the day, a press
conference and a “Heart for Life” symposium were also held at the
Zagreb University Medical School. This was organised by Croatian
Cardiologic Society and by CNIPH: for CNIPH Pr V. Hrabak‑Zerjavic gave
two lectures “Public Health Importance of Cardiovascular Diseases” and
“Smoking, a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Diseases”; Pr M. Kuzman gave
a lecture “Living Habits of Young People” and Dr Z. Petrovic “With
Proper Diet to Healthy Heart”.
With
an invited lecture, “Epidemiologic Account of Mental Disorders in
Croatia” Pr V. Hrabak‑Zerjavic and Dr M. Silobrcic‑Radic attended The
First Croatian Congress on Social Psychiatry – Psychiatry in the
Community in Split on 22‑25 September 2004.
SOCIAL MEDICINE SERVICE
- Head, Urelija Rodin, MD, MSc
In
collaboration with the World Bank, Croatian Office for Ethnic Minorities
has organised the drafting of an Action Plan for Romanies within a
Decade for Romanies 2005‑2015. The Health Care Workshop held on 16
September was attended by certain members of the Appointed Commission on
Romanies, representatives of Romany societies, with Pr Urelija Rodin
from CNIPH setting forth an Action Plan for Improving Romany Health.
This proposal was supported and its elaboration with defined tasks is to
follow a debate in the Commission.
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE
-
Head, Pr
Marina Kuzman, MD,
ScD
Within
the week “Move to become healthier” organised by Croatian Association
of Physical Therapists and the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport,
a forum named “Promoting Children’s Daily Physical Activity” took
place. There Dr Kuzman held a lecture on physical activity in children,
youths and students.
At the
invitation of the organisers, Dr Kuzman gave a lecture at the 12th
Nordic Conference on Student Health Care in Helsinki describing the
provision of medical care to students and their health status. At the
same time, programme recording general health examinations of students
was improved and handed to directors of public health institutes for
their school health services.
Dr
Iva Pejnovic Franelic took part in the convention of national
counterparts of the Health Promoting Schools in Copenhagen
evaluating the project’s present status and future prospects.
An
annual convention of ESPAD (European School Survey Project on
Alcohol and Other Drugs) project co-ordinators, attended by Dr
Kuzman, co-ordinator for Croatia, was held in Vienna on 28 September
2004. It announced for December 2004 an international presentation of
ESPAD 2003 results.
ADDICTION PREVENTION SERVICE
-
Acting head, Pr
Marina Kuzman, MD,
ScD
Pr
Marina Kuzman and Dr Dragic Katalinic attended in Pula a technical
conference “Combating Addiction – A Struggle for Healthy Family”
with oral presentations “Familial Factors and Addictive Behaviour in
Youths” and “Familial Characteristics of Drug Addicts Treated Between
1997 and 2003”.
Computers and printers purchased from the funds provided by the
Government Office for psychoactive drug control for all public health
institutes, i.e., drug addiction prevention services, were handed to
institute directors.
MICROBIOLOGY SERVICE
- Head, Prof.
Dr Gordana Mlinaric-Galinovic
M.
caprae
has
been isolated and identified at CNIPH’s TB Bacteriologic Diagnostics
Department for the first time in human material. In addition to
undergoing biochemical identification (negative nitrate reduction,
negative niacin test, susceptibility to pyrazinamide), the isolate was
confirmed using the hybridisation test (GenoType® MTBC; Hain
Lifescience). M. caprae isolations in Croatia have until now
only been made in cattle (by the Veterinary Institute in Zagreb).
The
species M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. africanum, M. canettii, M.
microti and M. Pinnipedi belong to the Mycobacterium
tuberculosis complex and display a close relatedness. They are the
causative agents of human and animal tuberculosis. Mycobacterium
bovis subsp. caprae and most recently Mycobacterium
caprae is also a member of the complex. Variations in the
biochemical properties and molecular characteristics of the species
Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex permit their differentiation and
identification, something of special epidemiological value.
The
Fifth Meeting of the European Society for Chlamydia Research was
held in Budapest on 1-4 September 2004. Dr S Ljubin Sternak attended
for CNIPH by presenting a poster “The prevalence of Chlamydia
trachomatis in asymptomatic and symptomatic male populations in
Croatia – a prospective pilot study”.
Molecular Diagnostics Department run by A. Babic Erceg, ScD, has
introduced molecular diagnostics for the detection of C. trachomatis.
This involves COBAS‑AMPLICOR, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‑based
automated system that is more sensitive and more specific than the
present diagnostic methods. This method permits proving the presence of
C. trachomatis in urine (readily accessible clinical material)
samples as well. In fact, our Service is the only one in Croatia doing
the isolation of this demanding bacterium as well, which is especially
important in patient control upon completion of a specific therapy.
Virologic Diagnostics Unit run by Master T. Vilibic Cavlek has also
introduced the Chlamydia pneumoniae diagnosis by means of the
micrommunofluorescence test. It has the advantage of demonstrability of
chlamydial species, something that could not be shown using the
traditional complement fixation (CF) test because of its being
group‑specific.
HEALTH ECOLOGY SERVICE
-
Head, Krunoslav Capak, MD,
MSc
As
part of the UNEP-GEF project “Developing a National Biosafety Network
in Croatia”, a workshop “GMO problems in
Croatia and Other European Countries”
took
place in Topusko on 28-29 September 2004.
It was
organised by the Croatian Institute for Nature Protection in
collaboration with the European Organisation for Molecular Biology (EMBO)
and intended for NGOs, scientists and news reporters. Attending it were
Dr Zrinka Petrovic with a lecture “Potential Health Risks from GMOs”,
Sanela Ljubenko Mihelj, a biotechnological engineer, and Jelena Zafran
Novak, ScD, a molecular biologist.
News (monthly) Croatian National
Institute of Public Health
ISSN 1333-0608
Editor-in-chief: Prof. Marija
Strnad, MD, MPH, PhD
Editor and co-ordinator: Mario Troselj, MD
Editorial Board: Bernard Kaic, MD; MSc Verica Kralj, MD; Jasminka
Tunukovic, MD; Andreja Barisin, MD
Translator: Vilim Crlenjak, BA
Graphic design: Mario Hemen, EE
Publisher: Croatian National Institute of Public Health
Rockefellerova 7, 10000 ZAGREB, CROATIA
Tel: 385 1 48 63 222
Fax: 385 1 46 83 002
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