INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY SERVICE

- Head, Prof. Dr Ira Gjenero‑Margan

Our Service staff man participated in the evaluation of Albania’s central distributional system from 12‑17 February in the capacity of a WHO adviser.  This was a part of programme evaluation and accreditation of national vaccine distribution systems carried out systematically by WHO/EURO in the member states.  Within this evaluation, WHO representatives have announced that their Croatian visit will take place in April. 

A Pact on Stability countries’ meeting on the themes of influenza pandemic, avian influenza and international sanitary regulations took place on 27 February‑1 April in Sofia.  Besides the representatives of Stability Pact countries, also attending were those of the WHO/EURO Office, WHO Headquarters, European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), and a representative of this Service.  WHO representatives and invited advisers presented their reports on virological diagnosis, influenza monitoring systems, role of ECDC, and on the role of WHO in international sanitary regulations.  For each country, its representatives presented the national influenza pandemic preparedness plan with an account of the activities completed and of those relating to the adoption of international sanitary regulations. 

Concerning the strengthening of the disease monitoring system and harmonisation with the EU legislative system, this Service had started drawing up a manual for health workers with instructions on disease notification and definitions of notifiable diseases.  Our Service professional has attended in Poland an international conference on salmonelloses and other food‑borne zoonoses.  He presented two reports: ‘Epidemiologic analysis of salmonellosis outbreaks in 2005 in Croatia’ and ‘Programme of Potential Improvements for Salmonelloses Surveillance in Croatia’. 

The epidemiology service heads of all public health institutes had a conference in February with, as their themes, the preparations against the pandemic and the avian influenza, the latter topic regaining topicality.  The conferees gave figures on the completion so far of prefectural plans against the pandemic, and on the activities of prefectural headquarters.  

One Service staffer attended as national delegate a meeting on 1‑2 February in Brussels of the ‘Think Tank on HIV/AIDS’ at the European Commission.  The meeting agenda covered a report on the state of human rights of the persons living with HIV/AIDS, implementation of the ‘3 by 5’ initiative, and a debate on improving HIV/AIDS prevention strategies in the population of intravenous drug users.  On 21 February came a meeting with UNDP consultants aimed at assessing the system of the combat against HIV/AIDS within the initiative ‘Towards Universal Access to HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment and Care in South Eastern Europe’.  The meeting heard a report on the system of HIV/AIDS monitoring in Croatia, its problems and proposals for improvement.

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

On Croatian No Tobacco Day, which was marked on the first day of the Lent with a motto ‘Tobacco Smoke‑Free Day’, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare held a press conference at which Pr Vlasta Hrabak‑Zerjavic, MD, MSc presented Croatia’s Action Plan against Tobacco in the capacity of the chair of the Committee on the Fight Against Tobacco.  Equally, on 1 March (Croatian No Tobacco Day) at a forum in Rijeka organised by Primorsko‑Goranska County Public Health Institute, she marked the occasion with a suitable report.

Dr Verica Kralj attended in Prague the conference ‘Fighting Tobacco Dependence Today and Tomorrow – New Opportunities’ held there on 8 February for countries of the Central and Eastern Europe.  It saw presentations of the latest facts on tobacco dependence, dehabituation methods, international experience in this area and the activities for the year 2006.

SOCIAL MEDICINE SERVICE

- Head, Pr Urelija Rodin, MD, MSc

SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE

- Head, Pr Marina Kuzman, MD, ScD

A unique Meeting was held on 26‑28 January. It assembled the heads of school and university health services of Flanders, Croatia and Slovenia who are on a joint project named ‘Implementation of a methodology for developing professionally founded guidelines in school health’, as well as the Management Board of Croatian Medical Association’s Croatian Society for School and University Health.  Attending there were also the representatives of school and university health societies of Flanders and Slovenia.  While on the first two days, the Meeting was taking place in Zagreb, on the third it moved to Ljubljana, where it was organised by the School and University Health Association of Slovenia.  In addition to a review of the present situation in the area of school and university health services, the presentation included a draft calculation for time and staff norms for school health teams.  Included in this norm is the distance between schools and school health dispensaries.  It has been developed in CNIPH’s School Health Service.  Another meeting held was by the Management Board of Croatian Medical Association’s Croatian School and University Health Society to prepare the electoral meeting.  A special debate considered the status and role of the profession in connection with the ongoing events in health education within the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport.  As regards the elaboration of professionally founded guidelines in the field of obesity prevention among the school‑going population, the first year of the project ended successfully: a comprehensive list of the relevant literature and arrangements for future activity were made.

ADDICTION PREVENTION SERVICE

- Head, Pr Marina Kuzman, MD, ScD

On 20‑22 March the Council of Europe’s Pompidou Group held in Zagreb the 5^th Meeting of Prevention Platform in collaboration with CNIPH, Zagreb Office of Health, Work and Welfare, and Croatian government’s Office for Control of Narcotics.  The Meeting addressed the topic of prevention of dependencies in drug users’ children.  It focused on the questions of measuring the outcome of prevention (establishing indicators for risk exposure and protection, and quality control in the implementation of preventative programmes).  Another important issue was the manner in which to involve in the above the parents, family, neighbourhood, media, private sector and religious communities.  The defined strategy should be forwarded to as many bodies of the state and associations as possible; ranging from the government to various voluntary societies whose work is related to the prevention of addictions.  There was also a discussion of the barriers, obstacles to efficient collaboration, professional ethics, institutional and cultural compatibilities.  More than 60 participants, top professionals in this area from some 20 European countries, had registered for this Meeting.  Croatia’s representative in the Pompidou Group for Prevention of Dependencies is a staffer of this Service, Dr Dragica Katalinic.  It is envisaged that the welcome speech to the Meeting should be given by Assistant Professor, Neven Ljubicic, MD, ScD; the mayor of Zagreb, Mr. Milan Bandic, will also receive the conferees.

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

Organised by Croatian Medical Chamber and by Croatian Society for Infectious Diseases a symposium “Avian influenza - an introduction to new influenza pandemic?” took place at Croatian Medical Association on 4 February.  It was designed for wide medical public.  From CNIPH as lecturers attended Dr V. Drazenovic from the National Influenza Centre and Professor I. Gjenero‑Margan.  

Under the sponsorship of WHO, an international course named ‘Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Surveillance Module System’ and organised by School of Public Health in Zagreb was held on 6‑10 February in Zagreb.  Through multidisciplinary approach, this programme provided an insight into infections among the HIV virus‑infected patients.  Dr Ljubin‑Sternak and B. Hunjak, MSc participated with their respective reports ‘Laboratory diagnosis of chlamydial infections and genital infections caused by Herpes Simplex Virus’ and ‘Gonococcal Infections’.  Engineer G. Vojnovic from our Molecular Diagnostics Unit took part in the Course practical.  Course takers were familiarised with the classic and molecular diagnostic methods and updated with epidemiological data on Croatia’s trends in sexually transmitted infections.  A conclusion reached during the Course was for Croatia to improve the surveillance of its at‑risk population and enhance its sexually transmitted infection notification system. 

Dr D. Karlovic‑Martinkovic from our Serologic Bacteriological Diagnosis Unit attended the Seminar on Immunological Diagnosis of Human Tuberculosis on 15‑17 February in Bucharest, Romania.  In addition to lectures, the Seminar included practicing the use of the Australian ELISA test, the only one of its kind in the world for the indirect diagnosis of tuberculosis.  The high sensitivity (89%), specificity (98%) and employment of three antigenic components (ESAT‑6, CFP‑10, TB7.7) have permitted an improvement in the diagnostics of latent infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, since the present Mantoux tuberculin skin test displays lower sensitivity and lower specificity due to the cross‑reaction between with BCG and nontuberculous bacteria.  Also covered by the Seminar were the American CDC guidelines on the testing of tuberculars and of the individuals from contacts with the tuberculars.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICE

- Head, Krunoslav Capak, MD, MSc

The Second Regular Annual Convention and the Seventeenth Symposium of Croatian Society for Medical Ecology took place at the Zagreb Institute of Public Health on 23 February.  The Service head gave a lecture on the Strategy and Action Plan of the EU and WHO in the environmental health area.  Chronologically, he reviewed all international events that have led to the current 4^th Ministerial Conference.  The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Space Planning’s experts have participated in parallel in every national action and strategy.  Technical preparations for the next Ministerial Conference are focused on the influence of pollutants in the environment on child health (especially on consequential diseases of the respiratory system, as asthma, allergic diseases and similar).