May the 2nd, 2022 - Hepatitis in Zagreb has been causing quite a few issues for the best part of two months. The spread of the highly infectious Hepatitis A, a vaccine preventable liver virus caused by the Hepatitis A virus (HAV), has been taking place in multiple locations, with schools high on the list. The Hepatitis A virus is otherwise found in the stool and blood of infected individuals.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, There has been a sizeable outbreak of Hepatitis in Zagreb and it has been going on for around two months now. The largest number of patients at this moment in time are high school students, reports Jutarnji list.

"Since the beginning of March, we've recorded 57 cases of Hepatitis A, mostly among high school students. The causative agent is the Hepatitis A virus, which is transmitted by the feco-oral route, ie by ingesting contaminated water or food in the stool of an infected person or from hands contaminated with the stool of an infected person. The disease was reported among students from three schools in Zagreb and their household contacts.

The issue with Hepatitis in Zagreb is completely under control, and about 45 patients have already recovered. It's possible that in the end, the number of infected people will be higher because the incubation period for Hepatitis A is one month, in some cases even two months,'' said Branko Kolaric, the director of the ''Dr. Andrija Stampar'' Teaching Institute in Zagreb.

Although the schools received instructions regarding the spread of the virus that they passed on to both parents and children, Kolaric would like to appeal to everyone to maintain hand hygiene and to keep washing them regularly.

Hepatitis A or contagious jaundice is an acute contagious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus and is most commonly transmitted by unwashed hands, contaminated food or water, and after someone has been in close physical contact with an infected person, including through sexual activity. Incubation lasts 15-50 days, on average about a month. The affected person is contagious 14 days before the onset and seven days after the onset of symptoms.

Liver failure is a possibility if one contracts this virus

“The symptoms of acute Hepatitis A include fever, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, light coloured stool, and dark urine. Elevated bilirubin and transaminase levels are then confirmed by performing liver function tests. The disease is often asymptomatic or mild, especially in children under five years of age. However, the problems can really begin if the disease goes unrecognised, meaning it can progress and lead to liver failure,'' said Lorna Stemberger Maric, a pediatric infectologist from the Dr. Fran Mihaljevic Clinic for Infectious Diseases.

"Currently, we don't have any patients with Hepatitis in our department, but in the last month we've had several serious cases in high school and elementary school. Fortunately, all of our young patients have recovered so far. We've had individual cases of acute Hepatitis A in previous years, but I don't remember having such an epidemic that spread among children like this one has,'' added Lorna Stemberger Maric.

In the meantime, the principals of Zagreb's schools received instructions and handed out information leaflets to teachers, parents and students.

It was pointed out that a person can become infected if they eat food prepared by an infected person who didn't wash their hands properly or washed them in contaminated water.

One form of infection is when a person drinks contaminated water, including ice cubes. Furthermore, the consumption of raw or undercooked mussels from contaminated water, raw and uncooked and unwashed foods such as fruit, vegetables and sushi should be avoided.

Humanscan also become infected with Hepatitis A through close contact with a person who has the virus using a shared toilet and kitchen. Another way of contracting the disease is engaging in sexual intercourse with an infected person, and it is especially risky for a man to have sexual intercourse with another infected man. Another common way to contract a Hepatitis A infection is drug consumption using contaminated tools such as needles.

For more on the situation with Hepatitis in Zagreb as it unfolds, make sure to check out our news section.

March 14, 2022 - The Zagreb Fair, which from the beginning was the main mass vaccination point in the Croatian capital, will no longer fulfill these functions, according to the "Dr. Andrija Štampar" Institute, which also announced new vaccination points and schedules.

The Institute of Public Health "Dr. Andrija Štampar'' informed on Monday that the point for mass vaccination at the Zagreb Fair will no longer be operational, and the working hours of vaccination places in health centers are also changing, reports Večernji List.

The Zagreb Fair, located on Dubrovnik Avenue in Novi Zagreb, was the main point of mass vaccination in the Croatian capital to this day.

According to the new working hours, the vaccination sites of the NZJZ "Dr. Andrija Štampar", without prior order, will be at two locations: Mirogojska cesta 16, Great Hall, will be open on Mondays and Fridays from 16 to 19 hours. While Avenija Većeslava Holjevca 22 at the Health Center Zagreb - Center, will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 2 to 6 p.m.

Vaccination is available, according to "Andrija Štampar", other days of the week in the Vaccination Clinic of the Epidemiology Service, Mirogojska cesta 16, with a mandatory pre-order by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Vaccination points at the Health Center Zagreb - East (Sesvete, Ninska 16) and the Health Center Zagreb - West (Prečko 2a) will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 2 pm to 6 pm. Vaccination is also possible at the vaccination point organized by HZJZ and ŠNZ Andrija Štampar (Rockefellerova 4), on Wednesdays from 4 pm to 8 pm.

Drive and testing at NZJZ “Dr. Andrija Štampar” (Mirogojska cesta 16) will be open from Saturday to Sunday, March 12, from 8 am to 11 am, with prior ordering via the platform.

For more information, visit the official website of the NZJZ Andrija Štampar.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

May the 27th, 2021 - Zagreb's Andrija Stampar Institute has been a very popular destination of late, more so since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic at the start of 2020. While popular, it wasn't for the right reasons and lines and lines of cars full of people waiting to get PCR tests there were a common sight during the pandemic. Just how much did the Institute earn as a result?

PCR tests aren't cheap and that has been an understandable bone of contention for the public not only in Croatia but abroad. The fact that a swab up the nose could possibly cost up to 700 kuna and even more was unthinkable for many, especially in a dire economic situation which seemingly had no end in sight. The Andrija Stampar Institute in Zagreb was performing PCR tests repeatedly throughout pandemic-dominated 2020, and is still doing so. A report revealed just how much money those many, many PCR tests translated into.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, if one was to look at the "Statement of income and expenditure, receipts and expenditures" for the period from the 1st of January to the 31st of December 2020, one would notice very high growth indeed in operating income of Andrija Stampar Institute, otherwise the instutition that performed the most PCR tests in all of Croatia, writes Jutarnji list.

Back in 2019, more precisely back when things were normal, the Institute had reported revenues of 96.17 million kuna, while last year they earned a massive 204.6 million kuna, or 2.1 times more. In 2020, the Institute's accountants recorded a total "Surplus operating income" of 49.5 million kuna, which is about 17 times more than was recorded back in 2019. How is it possible that in the midst of an unprecedented crisis and a global pandemic, a public health institution is 17 times more profitable than it was during a normal business year?

Multiple articles came to light last year which warned that the price of PCR tests in the Republic of Croatia is very high when compared to other EU member states. Here in Croatia, the price of PCR tests ranged from 500 to 1500 kuna, while in Germany the prices stood at 460 kuna. Last year, the Andrija Stampar Institute kept their price of a PCR test at around 700 kuna, and they justified that price with the fact that there are high input costs, ie that they purchase extremely high quality PCR tests.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.

August the 19th, 2020 - There has been an unfortunate increase in the infection level in Croatia, and while some government figures plead with the countries placing Croatia on their ''no go'' or ''red'' lists for travel to divide Croatia up into different regions to reflect the infection rate rather than condemning the entire country, many European countries are continuing to make things difficult as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Austria is the most recent country to make very bold moves in warning their nationals not to travel on holiday to Croatia, rejecting the aforementioned plea to divide the country up, and many have been complaining about the price of the coronavirus test some countries are asking for upon return from Croatia. On top of that, the second complaint has been that there aren't enough facilities at which to get the necessary tests which more and more countries are now demanding. This has resulted in huge crowds of people waiting to have their tests performed.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of August, 2020, on Tuesday morning, there were large crowds waiting for coronavirus tests in front of the  Dr. Andrija Štampar Institute in Zagreb, which came to the forefront during the pandemic as being a ''drive through'' testing facility in which people didn't need to leave their cars.

The number of tested people has been growing even though the cost of the test is at the testee's expense, and since prices have been reduced. There has been pressure in Zagreb for several days now due to the large number of people who want to be tested, so three additional locations will be opened in health centres that will work from 08:00 to 20:00.

Fewer people are being tested on weekends because such facilities work part-time or don't open their doors at all over the weekend, reports N1.

For more on coronavirus in Croatia, follow our dedicated section.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.