Seroprevalence of lyssaviruses in certain bat species has been proven in the Republic of Croatia, but there have been no confirmed positive bat brain isolates or human fatalities associated with bat injuries/bites. The study included a retrospective analysis of bat injuries/bites, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and geographic distribution of bat injuries in persons examined at the Zagreb Antirabies Clinic, the Croatian Reference Centre for Rabies. In the period 1995–2020, we examined a total of 21,910 patients due to animal injuries, of which 71 cases were bat-related (0.32%). Of the above number of patients, 4574 received rabies PEP (20.87%). However, for bat injuries, the proportion of patients receiving PEP was significantly higher: 66 out of 71 patients (92.95%). Of these, 33 received only the rabies vaccine, while the other 33 patients received the vaccine with human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG). In five cases, PEP was not administered, as there was no indication for treatment. Thirty-five of the injured patients were biologists or biology students (49.29%). The bat species was confirmed in only one of the exposure cases. This was a serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus), a known carrier of Lyssavirus hamburg. The results showed that the bat bites were rather sporadic compared to other human injuries caused by animal bites. All bat injuries should be treated as if they were caused by a rabid animal, and according to WHO recommendations. People who come into contact with bats should be strongly advised to be vaccinated against rabies. Entering bat habitats should be done with caution and in accordance with current recommendations, and nationwide surveillance should be carried out by competent institutions and in close collaboration between bat experts, epidemiologists and rabies experts.

- Travelling around the world and visiting distant places and countries (especially national parks, parks of nature, natural resorts, etc.) sometimes may result in animal bites and injuries from the species which are not usually represented as the source of human rabies cases, such as monkeys. In the last ten to fifteen years, monkey bites and injuries present an unpleasant experience and cause a lot of problems for travelers and tourists when travelling to India, Thailand, Indonesia or Bali because they have to seek a medical facility for wound treatment, tetanus prophylaxis, antimicrobial therapy and rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). In 2014, 706 persons were registered at the Zagreb Antirabies Clinic as having sustained bites by various animals, ten of them reported to have been bitten or injured by monkeys. Nine of them sustained injuries during their travel to India, Thailand, Indonesia and Bali. All injuries occurred when they wanted to pet or tried to feed monkeys, or refused to give them food. Most of the monkeys were macaques, capuchins, or of unknown type. Only one monkey bite recorded in the city of Zagreb occurred in the Zagreb ZOO while a professional animal handler was feeding a capuchin monkey in the cage. He did not receive rabies PEP, but instead, the capuchin monkey was put under veterinary supervision. All other patients started with PEP in the countries where the injuries occurred and continued/completed it at the Zagreb Antirabies Clinic. They received antirabies vaccine only (PVRV, RABIPUR) upon 5-dose regimen (Essen scheme) and 2-1-1 (Zagreb scheme) regimen. None of them contracted rabies. After many years, monkeys were the animal species immediately following dogs and cats in the official report of the Zagreb Antirabies Clinic, which was quite surprising. Usually, monkey bites and injuries do not present a serious problem in daily routine because they occur sporadically.

The aim of this paper is to present data on hospitalized patients in Zagreb clinics and hospitals, from 2007 to 2021. This paper is a continuation of our previous paper, but for a different time period. All data were collected from the official pat...

Gripa je bolest respiratornog sustava koja se lako i brzo širi. Pojavljuje se svake godine u obliku manjih ili većih epidemija te uzrokuje značajan pobol i višak smrtnosti diljem svijeta. Praćena je raznim komplikacijama, osobito u osoba starije životne dobi. Uzrokuje zdravstvene, društvene i ekonomske probleme te predstavlja značajan javnozdravstveni problem. Cilj je rada prikazati pobol i smrtnost od gripe u Požeško-slavonskoj županiji (PSŽ) u sezonama od 2014./2015. do 2021./2022. godine. Tjedne promjene broja oboljelih i incidencija oboljelih prema dobnim skupinama prikazani su na temelju prijava oboljenja od gripe koje su pristigle u Zavod za javno zdravstvo Požeško-slavonske županije od sezone 2014./2015. do 2021./2022. Podatci o umrlima od gripe preuzeti su iz Nacionalnoga javnozdravstvenog informacijskog sustava. Podatci o potrošnji cjepiva prikupljeni su iz izvješća o potrošnji sezonskog cjepiva. U promatranom osmogodišnjem razdoblju u PSŽ-u prosječno su zaprimljene 263 prijave oboljenja od gripe po sezoni. Najčešće obolijevaju djeca školske i predškolske dobi. Stopa incidencije najniža je u osoba dobi od 65 godina i starijih, ali je u njih ujedno najveća smrtnost. U navedenom razdoblju sve umrle osobe od gripe bile su ženskoga spola (N = 5), a većina umrlih (80%) nije bila cijepljena protiv gripe. Cijepni obuhvati protiv gripe u PSŽ-u u svim sezonama daleko su ispod obuhvata koje preporučuje SZO, a u sezoni 2021./2022. zabilježen je silazni trend odaziva na cijepljenje. Cijepljenje protiv gripe ključni je alat za smanjenje morbiditeta i mortaliteta od gripe, stoga je potrebno ulagati velike napore u edukaciju javnosti i zdravstvenih djelatnika o važnosti cijepljenja zbog postizanja veće učinkovitosti.

Cat-related injuries are a frequent reason for antirabies consultation, but long-term data on their epidemiology and management remain limited, particularly in European settings that have transitioned from endemic sylvatic rabies to officially rabies-free status. We retrospectively analysed registry data on all patients examined for cat-related injuries at the Zagreb Antirabies Clinic, the Croatian Reference Centre for Rabies, between 1995 and 2025. Among 24,107 animal-related consultations, 3147 (13.1%) involved cats. Most patients were female (64.8%), and children under 18 years of age accounted for 14.7% of the patients. The offending cat had a known owner in 48.5% of cases and was unknown in 45.9%. Records associated with laboratory-confirmed rabid cats accounted for 4.8%, all from 1995 to 2012. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) was administered to 37.6% of patients, and human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG) to 2.9%. Hospitalisation was rare (1.1%), while injuries most often involved the fist and fingers (59.5%). PEP administration was strongly associated with the rabies risk status of the offending cat, increasing from 8.7% for known-owner cats to 62.0% for unknown cats and approximately 87% for suspected or laboratory-confirmed rabid cats (p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, animal status remained the principal factor independently associated with PEP (adjusted odds ratio for unknown versus known-owner cats approximately 18), whereas patient characteristics had limited effect. HRIG use declined below 1% in 2015–2025, paralleling the elimination of sylvatic rabies in Croatia. Continued structured exposure assessment remains relevant despite rabies-free status, particularly when cats are unknown or unavailable for observation.