OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR – Disability Prevention Department

“Biological Aspects of Autistic Syndrome” is the title of a lecture given at the Zagreb Faculty of Medicine on 21 February 2005.  It was organised by the Academy for Developmental Rehabilitation that has invited for the occasion Dr Sten Christerson, an eminent Swedish specialist in child neurology and habilitation.  Over the past 10 years, a major increase in the incidence of autism has been observed.  Dr Christerson stressed the importance of early diagnosis of autism and of involvement of autistic children in habilitational programmes.  In this way, one can effectively prevent the potential development of mental diseases in those children, also giving them an opportunity to adopt alternative forms of communication as early as possible.

A Meeting on the Implementation of Accessibility Sign Regulation (Official Journal of the Republic of Croatia, OJRC, 105/04) took place on 25 February in Zagreb at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Development.  It was attended by representatives of the Croatian League of Physically Disabled, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Croatian Pension Insurance Administration, and CNIPH.  Dr Tomislav Benjak from this CNIPH’s Department attended both gatherings.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY SERVICE
(Ministry of Health’s Reference Centre for Epidemiology)
- Head, Prof. Dr Ira Gjenero-Margan

The Service staff took part at a working session held at Stubičke Toplice on 4-5 February organised by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on the subject of monitoring and evaluation of the project “Improving the Control of HIV/AIDS in Croatia”.  Representatives of health, educational and nongovernmental organisations taking part in project execution attended.  Through conferee presentations, the occasion was used to illustrate past achievements on the project.  The speeches dealt with youth education and prevention of HIV/AIDS among the young, setting up of guidance centres for HIV/AIDS problem area and reduction of risk of HIV/AIDS acquisition in high‑risk groups, improvement of medical care and psychosocial assistance for HIV/AIDS‑affected patients, and improvement in the epidemiological monitoring of HIV/AIDS in Croatia.

The Service staffers described the establishment and operation of the newly opened guidance centres for voluntary, anonymous and free testing for HIV infection, which have been opened at county public health institutes in Split, Rijeka, Zagreb, Zadar and Osijek.  We also showed the results of the first part of a Seroprevalence Study among High‑Risk Individuals for HIV Infection.  The activities mentioned, i.e., the opening of centres for free and anonymous guidance and HIV testing, and a study of seroprevalence are a part of the Project whose carrier is the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Service.

Borislav Aleraj, MD, MSc attended with a Ministry of Health and Social Welfare representative on 20-27 February in Geneva a session of the Intergovernmental Working Group charged with drawing up new International Sanitary Regulations.  Given that a new revision of International Sanitary Regulations is being drafted, this meeting was one in a series on this topic, where details of the revised text are set. 

Our Service staff member attended a two‑day first Interpol’s Global Conference on Preventing Bio-Terrorism, which took place in Lyon, France.  More than 500 delegates from 155 countries concluded that further co‑operation between law enforcement agencies, public health authorities and other relevant institutions was essential.  The importance of collaboration between the police and public health in planning and coordinating activities for the prevention of bio‑terrorism was recognised.  Similarly recognised was the general importance of providing the training, increasing the effectiveness of data gathering and sharing more effectively information concerning the threat of bio‑terrorism collection and utilisation, to enable a response to the threat with biological weapons at any time.

CHRONIC MASS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY DEPARTMENT
- Head, Pr Vlasta Hrabak-Zerjavic, MD, MSc

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had sent Dr Vlasta Hrabak-Zerjavic to a Luxembourg meeting organised by the European Commission on 1-2 February 2005, i.e. to the Fourth Session of the Working Group on Accidents and Injuries.  The main topic was an Action Plan for Safer Europe with the following aims: development of a comprehensive information system on accidents and injuries, activities in five priority areas – childhood and adolescent age injuries, road injuries in vulnerable groups (children, elderly, handicapped, cyclists etc.), falls in older age, self‑inflicted injuries and suicides, and violence, implementation of the preventive strategy in all member countries. 

A presentation was made of the “Injury Database” project specifically aimed at defining key elements for preventive programmes.

On 3 February, Pr Hrabak attended an Info-Day on Public Health Programme where it was emphasised that priority areas for projects in 2005 were health information, health threats and health determinants.  Eligible for its financial support are EU members, EFTA‑EEA (Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway) and EU member states having signed the Memorandum on Accession.  As a rule, financial contribution to project costs by the EU is 60%.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an international public health agreement under the auspices of the World Health Organization, for the reduction of cigarette smoking and prevention of the diseases and deaths due to smoking, came into force on 27 February 2005.  It has set international standards for the areas of tobacco prices and tax increases, tobacco advertising and sponsoring, tobacco product labelling, prevention of tobacco smuggling and exposure to passive smoking.  Currently, the Convention is in force only in those countries that have ratified it.  Of the 168 singing the Convention, so far 57 have done so.

ADDICTION PREVENTION SERVICE

Acting Head, Pr Marina Kuzman, MD, ScD

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

At Croatian Medical Association a course named “Respiratory infections at older age. Epidemiological and Clinical Pictures, Diagnosis, Therapy and Prevention” took place on 17-19 February. It was a category I postgraduate course for continuing training, whose organisers were the Zagreb Faculty of Medicine, Croatian National Institute of Public Health, and Croatian Society for Medical Microbiology with Parasitology.  Professor Mlinaric-Galinovic, Dr V. Katalinic-Jankovic, Professor I. Gjenero‑Margan and Dr T. Vilibic-Cavlek, MSc led the Course.  In all, 11 lecturers from CNIPH participated in it.  The Course focused on the importance of respiratory infections in the elderly because they constitute a significant portion of the morbidity and mortality rates due to the extra burden with risk factors at that age.

This year, the course guest was Professor Ann Falsey (General Hospital Rochester, New York) whose longstanding concern has been the problem of respiratory infections in the elderly.  The title of her course lecture was “Viral respiratory infections in the elderly”.