engleski

Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome in Croatia

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is an important human disease caused by hantaviruses. It is zoonotic disease which is endemic in Croatia and has long and well documented history. First cases of HFRS in Croatia were described in 1954 and since then there have been five outbreaks with constant sporadic cases. In 1967, the first outbreak occurred in the Plitvice Lakes area where 14 patients were infected with Puumala or Hantaan-like viruses. In 1989, there was an outbreak among soldiers near Velika Gorica with 14 HFRS cases confirmed and in 1991 another outbreak occurred in Novska at the beginning of the war. During the war, in 1995, the big outbreak of HFRS occurred in Croatia, when Puumala and Dobrava hantaviruses were confirmed in 85 of 203 suspected patients, mostly soldiers. During the biggest HFRS outbreak in Croatia, in 2002, when more than 400 patients encountered HFRS, Puumala virus was shown to be dominant pathogen. Since then, around 20 HFRS cases were registered per year. It is obvious that whole Croatia is permanent endemic HFRS region, so it is very important to trace the number of newly infected patients and to provide early diagnosis. Future outbreaks could be predicted by observing natural cycles of rodent populations and their dependence on climate conditions.

HFRS; Croatia

nije evidentirano