Epidemiological characteristics and clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis in Croatia.

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to show the epidemiological characteristics and clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis in Croatia. METHODS: Data on registered Lyme borreliosis cases were analyzed and the most common clinical manifestations of the disease, based on meta-analysis of the data collected, are described. RESULTS: A total of 3,317 cases were reported from 1987 to the end of 2003. Northwestern Croatia is an area in which Lyme borreliosis is endemic, but the disease has also been recorded in the other parts of the country, with the exception of the area south of Zadar. The clinical picture of Lyme borreliosis in Croatia is dominated by erythema migrans, followed by neurological manifestations. The diversified clinical picture is consistent with reports from other European countries, as is the isolation of Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii, which are causally related to these forms of the disease. CONCLUSION: Tick density and tick infection rates of Borrelia burgdorferi have not yet been investigated in the part of Croatia free from the occurrence of Lyme borreliosis.

[Epidemiologic characteristic of hepatitis B in the Splitsko-Dalmatinska County]. / Epidemioloske karakteristike hepatitisa B u Splitsko-Dalmatinskoj zupaniji.

Epidemiologic characteristics of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the Split-Dalmatia County and in Croatia as a whole from January 1, 1994 till December 31, 2003 were analyzed. The mean number of hepatitis B cases was 28 (morbidity rate 6.03 per thousand) in the Split-Dalmatia County and 208 (morbidity rate 4.68 per thousand) in Croatia. Over the last five years, there was a marked decrease in the incidence of hepatits B in the Split-Dalmatia County (morbidity rate 1.55 per thousand), whereas its incidence at the national level showed a stable pattern (morbidity rate 4.49 per thousand). In the Split-Dalmatia County, the majority of patients (57.51%) were aged 15-29, which could be attributed to risky sexual contacts and intravenous drug use. The male to female ratio was 2.1(188:93). There was no major incidence fluctuation according to months of year. The hepatitis B mortality rate was 0.24% (5/2079) in Croatia as a whole, whereas no case of HBV lethality was recorded in the Split-Dalmatia County. The significant decrease in the hepatitis B morbidity rate in the Split-Dalmatia County most probably resulted from the comprehensive measures of prevention, especially vaccination, the early introduction of the needle exchange program (1955-1996).

Association of stress and delinquency in children and adolescents.

The aim of investigation was to assess the impact of subjective stress exposure on delinquent behaviour in children and adolescents. The study included 174 young male delinquents, selected by the method of stratified systematic (random) sample and divided into three age groups of <14, 14-17, and 18-21 years. General data, data on the type of criminal offence, and data on the type of deviant behaviour were collected. A standardised scale of subjective stress was used to allow for comparison of the results obtained in the study with those reported elsewhere. Analysis of variance, chi2-test and factor analysis were used on data processing. A majority of study subjects (55.2%) committed one criminal offence. The criminal offence structure was predominated by proprietary violation (66.7%). Common forms of deviant behaviour included shirking school duties (55.2%), and aggressive behaviour at school (31.0%), in public (29.5%) and in the family (23.6). Parental distrust and punishment (abuse) of the child were identified as the major sources of subjective stress. Youngest subjects significantly differed from other age groups according to their experience of subjective stress described as punishment (abuse) (F = 22.1389, p < 0.001). They were considerably more vulnerable to this type of stress than older age groups. These sources of stress were found to positively correlate with the number of criminal offences committed. Among the sources of stress, parents' distrust of the child significantly correlated with commitment of one criminal offence (F = 2.8618, p < 0.05), and child's punishment (abuse) with a higher number of criminal offences (F = 3.1539, p < 0.05). Criminal activity of children and adolescents is significantly associated with their history of stress exposure over the last two years of life. The higher the stress severity, the greater the rate of delinquency.