Every year, the World Mental Health Day (10 October) is marked with the aim of turning the attention to the problems of mental health and of underlining the importance of mental health promotion.  This year’s topic “strengthening the consciousness and reducing the risk: mental health and suicide“ urges the global community to give maximum priority in mental health care to the reducing of suicide risk in mentally ill.

Taking place in Zagreb on 18‑21 October was the Third Congress of Croatian Society for Neurovascular Disorders and of Croatian Society for Stroke Prevention with international participation.  The latest knowledge from the areas of epidemiology, prevention, diagnostics, therapy, and rehabilitation after a cerebrovascular accident was presented at the Congress.  Pr V. Hrabak‑Zerjavic, MD, MSc gave the invited lecture ‘The epidemiology of cerebrovascular accident’.  A report by Dr V. Kralj was titled ‘Cerebrovascular diseases in Croatia: comparison of mortality and morbidity in years 1991 and 2004’.

SOCIAL MEDICINE SERVICE

- Head, Pr Urelija Rodin, MD, MSc

Results of two studies (“Survey of Croatia’s Inpatient Care Quality and Patient Satisfaction” and “Survey of Croatia’s Quality of Care in General Practice/Family Medicine and Patient Satisfaction”), made by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the Republic of Croatia and by Croatian National Institute of Public Health have been analysed.  A press conference on 3 October to mark the occasion was attended, besides the health minister Assistant Professor Neven Ljubicic, ScD, by the CNIPH director Pr Zeljko Baklaic, MSc, and by survey investigators Dr Branimir Tomic and Pr Ranko Stevanovic, ScD.

The Sixth Congress of Croatian Family Doctors Society held on 5‑7 October in Rovinj saw the head of Primary Health Care Department Pr Ranko Stevanovic, ScD, attend with two papers: "Operation of Croatian Family Medicine Service: quality as measured by subjective user satisfaction” and "Quality of life: measuring the physical and sociopsychological health of adults".  He also participated as a moderator in the Round Table Conference "National health development strategy 2006‑11 (OGRC 72/06) and new health laws".

SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE

- Head, Pr Marina Kuzman, MD, ScD

The 13th working meeting of national coordinators of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools held on 24‑26 October in Copenhagen, Denmark, was organised by World Health Organisation, European Commission and Council of Europe.  It was attended by Dr Iva Pejnovic Franelic.  Presented to the meeting was a publication ‘Health Promoting Schools Resource’, which deals with health‑related indicators in the concept of health promoting schools.  A draft new organisation for the European Network of Health Promoting Schools, whose main office is due for transfer to Woerden (Netherlands Health Promotion Institute), Netherlands, from January 2007, was outlined.

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

After delivering a public inaugural lecture "Mycotic Infections in Immunocompromised Patients" at the Zagreb Hospital Clinical Centre on 11 October, Dr Emilija Mlinaric‑Missoni, the head of our Mycology Department, became a titular senior lecturer at the Chair of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology of the Zagreb University Faculty of Medicine.

Recently, Bacteriologic‑Serologic Diagnostics Laboratory introduced indirect immunofluorescence tests (IFF) for demonstration of Bartonella bacteria (Bartonella henselae and Bartonella Quintana).  Bartonella is the agent of cat‑scratch disease, which appears as papulopustular primary skin lesion, acute and chronic lymphadenitis, and as disseminated form in immunodeficient patients (HIV), both among children and adults.  The specificity of IIF, the most reliable method so far, for IgG antibodies to B. henselae is 84%.  As regards the sensitivity of the demonstration test for IgG antibodies to B. henselae and for B. quitana, it is 80 and 100%, respectively.

A Workshop of European National Centres for Influenza was held as part of the WHO preparedness programme against potential influenza pandemic.  It took place on 25‑28 October in Bucharest, with Dr V. Drazenovic, the head of our National Centre for Influenza, attending on its behalf.  Using several hypothetic scenarios for the occurrence of a genuine pandemic, the Workshop endeavoured to attain the optimum coordination level both nationally and with reference centres in the world.

Organised by Croatian Medical Chamber, by Croatian Medical Association, and run by Croatian Society for Infectious Diseases, a continuing education course “Does Avian Influenza lead to a New Influenza Pandemic?” took place in Varaždin on 28 October and in Koprivnica on 5 November.  There Dr V. Drazenovic, head of the National Centre for Influenza, CNIPH’s Virology Department, described the present situation, and spoke about the “bird flu” threat, neuraminidase inhibitors, immunisation, and all current topics.

New courses of the same name, with free attendance and worth 11 credits each, will be organised by Croatian Medical Chamber that was prompted by the live interest.  They are due to take place at 9 AM, on 25 November in Split and on 9 December in Slavonski Brod.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICE

- Head, Krunoslav Capak, MD, MSc

Basing itself on an analysis of the state of dietary habits among schoolchildren and on the growing public health problem of obesity, WHO has launched an international project named Nutrition‑Friendly Schools.  It aims at prompting the schools to take a most active approach to the promotion and providing of proper child nutrition, and to the education and involvement of parents and the wider community.  Based on its longstanding successful collaboration with WHO and an assessment of our past activities of monitoring the nutritional status of schoolchildren and of efforts to improve the quality schoolchild nutrition, Croatia has been invited to join in this project.  The project is a part of a 2‑year programme for 2006 and 2007 signed between the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and WHO/EURO in Copenhagen.  CNIPH’s professionals in collaboration with school medicine teams from county public health institutes and with staffs of the primary schools to be included in the project will carry it out.

There was a workshop at CNIPH on 26 October dealing with project aims and its execution method.  It heard lectures from Trudy Wijnhoven, a WHO/EURO adviser, and from Professor Antoinette Kaic‑Rak, project coordinator and nutritional commissioner for collaboration with the WHO, as well as from Katica Antonic, MSc.  The director of CNIPH Pr Zeljko Baklaic, MSc, who also made the opening address, opened the gathering.  In addition to project investigators from individual schools, participating in the workshop were Ministry of Science, Sport, and Education as well as Ministry of Health and Social Welfare representatives.