Professor Marija Strnad attended the Fourth Meeting on Cancer Mortality Atlas in Europe, organised by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and taking place in Lyon, France on 10-11 May 2006.

The 14th World Congress on Breast Diseases and the 3rd Congress of Croatian Senologic Society took place in Zagreb on 18-21 May 2006.  Professor Strnad delivered a lecture titled “Incidence and Mortality of Breast Cancer” within the section in which she co‑chaired the epidemiology and prevention subject.

Held on 24‑28 May in Pula was the Fourth International Symposium on Complementary Supportive Therapies on the theme “Art and Science in Life Potential Development”.  It was organised by Croatian Society on Psychosocial Oncology and by the Department for the Study of Motoric Disorders, Chronic Diseases and Art Therapy, Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation, University of Zagreb.  There Professor Strnad gave a plenary paper named “Prevalence of Risk Factors for Health”.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY SERVICE

- Head, Prof. Dr Ira Gjenero‑Margan

In April this Service had a visit from a WHO adviser evaluating the central storage and distribution of vaccines, required for Compulsory Immunisation Programme.  This evaluation was a part of the WHO programme aimed at ensuring that in all member states the vaccines are stored and transported in proper conditions that guarantee their reaching the ultimate user in the proper state.  Although the elements of vaccine quality that are most important in our system received a positive rating, there is room for improvement, primarily in the area of documenting the storage and transport methods.  In this connection, WHO recommended that CNIPH should draw up a National Vaccine Quality Assurance Plan and distribute it to everyone concerned in the purchase, storage and distribution of vaccines.  This activity is complemental to our planning, execution and surveillance assignments in the Mandatory Immunisation Programme.  Some quality assurance elements are already a portion of the Immunisation Programme that we propose annually to the health ministry; as to other elements, they are laid down by relevant laws and ordinances.  A document to encompass all quality assurance elements for vaccine storage and distribution and to complement the current WHO recommendations is in preparation.  When completed it would be sent out to everyone involved in the process, from gross pharmacies and Croatian Institute for Health Insurance to immunisers in primary health care.

Based on the notifications of adverse reactions following vaccination, collected and analysed by the Adverse Vaccination Reactions Registry, we prepared a brochure “Side‑Effects of Immunisations in Croatia in 2005”.  Its distribution will be to all immunisers and it is due to appear on CNIPH’s web pages. 

Definitions of notifiable diseases are under development.  Their first part, which has been harmonised with the EU definitions, can be found on CNIPH’s web pages.  Defining of the diseases not yet covered by EU documents is in progress; so they too will appear on CNIPH’s web pages soon along with notification guidelines.

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

Organised by the Ministry of Family, War Veterans and Intergeneration Solidarity a round table conference “Suicides among Croatian War Veterans and Their Preventability” took place in Zagreb on 9 May 2006.  Croatia’s deputy prime minister and a minister Mrs. Jadranka Kosor made a keynote speech presenting suicide figures in Croatian war veterans.  Dr Maja Silobrcic presented a paper “Croatia’s Suicides Rates”.  Invited lecturers given were by Dr Elvira Koic (“Media and Suicides”), Professor Miro Jakovljevic (“Suicide as a Psychopathologic Phenomenon”) and Professor Mijo Nikic (“Suicide and Faith”).  The Conference set out to contribute via debate to the gaining of a comprehensive and objective insight into the phenomenon of suicides among Croatian war veterans as a precondition for building a more efficient system of preventive action. 

Service head Pr V. Hrabak‑Zerjavic, MD, MSc participated on 10‑11 May in Kaunas, Lithuania, in the meeting of national coordinators for developing a Strategy against Noncommunicable Diseases.  It considered technical reports, made additions to, and suggestions regarding the need for a second version of the European Strategy against Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases as part of the WHO Working Group’s charges of strategy development.  All received comments were discussed and the Working Group sketched the third version of a Strategy named “Gaining Health”, which was subsequently finalised by the WHO Secretariat and sent out to all national coordinators in Europe requesting a statement of their positions. 

To mark 31 May, the World No Smoking Day, on May 30 the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare organised a Conference “Smoking or Health”, held at the Old‑Town Hall.  After technical speeches there followed the drawing of a possible winner of the “Cease Smoking and Win” competition (organised by CNIPH).  This year in Croatia 1,097 people registered for the competition: the name of a potential winner was drawn from among these.  The winner had to give a written statement confirming that he/she had abstained from smoking for four weeks.  In corroboration, he/she had to produce a witness and results of a biochemical assay.  The winner of the national level competition also takes part in the drawing of the international award on the European and world levels.

SOCIAL MEDICINE SERVICE

- Head, Pr Urelija Rodin, MD, MSc

Pr Ranko Stevanovic, ScD, head of Primary Health Care Department in the Social Medicine Service, attended the 3rd Congress of Croatian Association of Nurses with international participation taking place in Zagreb on 25‑27 May.  He presented the invited lecture and paper “Establishment and Development of Integral Information System – five Croatian Innovations”, which appeared in Proceedings of the Congress.

As moderator of the symposium “Application of Telemedicine in Primary Health Care – Croatian and International Experience” and as an organising committee member, Pr Stevanovic, ScD participated in the 3rd Croatian and International Congress on Telemedicine and e‑Health” held in Hvar Town on 31 May‑3 June with the invited lecture “Establishment and Development of Integral Information System – five Croatian Innovations”.  At the Training Course for Health Institution Managers, held at the same Congress, he presented a lecture “Purchasing a Computer Application for Health Activity”.

ADDICTION PREVENTION SERVICE

- Head, Pr Marina Kuzman, MD, ScD

The 2nd European Forum on Addiction Prevention “Why shouldn’t we take drugs?” was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 18‑19 May 2006.  It was organised by the Council of Europe’s Pompidou Group.  There were 120 attendees from 21 European countries.  The Forum aimed at involving both young people and medical professionals in a joint debate to heighten the awareness of key issues connected with drug addiction prevention, and support the building of a partnership for prevention‑aimed activities.  It dealt with four subject groups (families and drugs, drug use from a lifestyle perspective, drugs and the media, drugs perception in different social groups).  Both youth and medical profession representatives were active in each group.  In every subject group, the participants critically reviewed the present preventive programmes, presenting and discussing the examples of good practice, also attempting to recognise and define ways in which young people could be included in the prevention of addictive diseases.  The young were given an opportunity to share their own experience and knowledge, as well as listen to good presentations by their peers and of drug addiction prevention professionals.  Dr Dijana Mayer was a conferee from CNIPH, with Miss Jelena Railic, a general secondary school pupil from Cakovec, representing young people. 

In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Croatian National Institute of Public Health, Drug Addiction Control Office, and Reference Centre for Addictions have organised a 3‑day seminar named “Addictions: new developments in their prevention and treatment”.  The Seminar, held at the Vrapce Psychiatric Hospital, was designed for the staff of drug‑addiction and outpatient‑treatment centres and for the staff of specialised consulting services at the drug addict admitting hospitals.  One hundred forty four addiction area professionals ranging from psychiatrists, other physicians, psychologists, social workers, special teachers, etc. attended.  There were 14 lectures, who were professionals from Croatia, USA and Netherlands.  As a social‑medical phenomenon, addiction was covered from the widest sociological‑medical aspect, modern psychiatric attitudes to addictions, to effects of psychoactive drugs on the brain, to personality development and drug addict personality characteristics, to accompanying mental diseases and other diseases, to different kinds of treatment that include psychosocial procedures, and medicament‑aided treatment or drugless therapies.  Mark W. Parrino from the American Association for the Treatment of Opiod Dependence, New York, USA, and Ernst Buningiz, Quest for Quality, Amsterdam, Netherlands were foreign guest lecturers.  On behalf of organisers Pr Marina Kuzman, ScD, concluded the Seminar emphasising the need for continuation of targeted seminars, through defining and providing the practical education to all certified physicians who prescribe methadone.  Equally, she stressed the need for the drafting of guidelines on buprenorfin, and for promoting collaboration with the juridical system. She announced a scheduled interdepartmental round‑table conference on the post penal admission of addicts.

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

The First Croatian Laboratory Diagnostics Congress on Threatening Infective Diseases and Role of Laboratory Diagnostics was held on 5‑7 May at Tuheljske Toplice.  Organised by the Association of Croatian Laboratories and conceived as multidisciplinary, it unfolded through plenary lectures by renowned experts, through speeches and posters.  Microbiology Service engineers Ana‑Mari Mandic and Vjekoslav Pticek presented a report “Sensitivity of E. coli to Peroral Antibiotics”.  The report by Ljiljana Katicic and Jelena Maric was titled “Zoonosis Agents in 2004‑05 – CNIPH’s Findings”.  The title of the report by Snjezana Artl and Ljiljana Milasincic was “The Role of Paired Sample in Serological Diagnosis of Viral Infections”. 

Representing Croatia’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Reference Centre for Monitoring Bacterial Resistance to Antibiotics, a group of Croatian microbiologists, infection researchers, general practitioners and epidemiologists made a trip to Netherlands on 8‑13 May as part of the MATRA project Antimicrobial Resistance Control in Human Medicine (MAT05/HR/9/2).  The subject was the use of the EU preaccession funds approved by the Dutch government for improving the existent monitoring and creating a national policy of systematic monitoring of the bacterial resistance in Croatia.  Attending for CNIPH was Dr V. Katalinic‑Jankovic, who was also a member of the working group.  The visit included a run of the institutions creating in Netherlands a policy of antibiotic use and the monitoring of bacterial resistance.  Netherlands being known for the low rate of bacterial resistance, the purpose of the visit was to gain familiarity with their methods and explore the feasibility of applying them in our conditions, activities on which the money already approved would be spent. 

The 31st Conference on Environmental Health in Practice with international participation took place in Šibenik on 10‑12 May.  Its organisers were CNIPH,  Environmental Health Chapter of Croatian Pharmaceutical Society, and Croatian Medical Association’s Croatian Environmental Health Society.  Through collaboration between Dr D. Brlek‑Gorski and Dr J. Vranesa Tunukovic from CNIPH a report “Use of Disinfectants and Development of Resistance in Microorganisms” was presented in the form of a poster. 

A continuing education course “Does Avian Influenza Lead to a New Influenza Pandemic?” which was organised by Croatian Medical Chamber and by Croatian Medical Association and run by Croatian Society for Infectious Diseases, took place at the Infectious Disease Clinic on 20 May.  Dr V. Drazenovic, head of the National Centre for Influenza and of BSL 3/4 Unit spoke on the present situation, “bird flu” threat, neuaraminidase inhibitors, immunisation and all current topics.

Responding to live interest, Croatian Medical Chamber will, starting in autumn organise in other prefectures and in the towns of Varaždin, Slavonski Brod, Rijeka, Zadar and Split, a cycle of lectures under the above name.   

On 20‑22 December 2006 a Symposium on Endemic Nephropathy will be held in Zagreb, organised by the Zagreb University Faculty of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, New York, USA, and by Croatian Centre for Endemic Nephropathy.  CNIPH is also a co‑organiser.  This etiologically still mysterious disease has been attracting the attention of scientists for 50 years now.  The Symposium would link scientists and professionals from the areas of epidemiology and public health with those doing clinical and fundamental research in order to bring new knowledge about the influence of environmental factors, and possibilities of improving the diagnosis and prevention of this disease.  For further particulars, click www.endemic‑nephropathy.mef.hr.