ZAGREB, 30 June 2022 - In the last 24 hours 1,148 coronavirus cases, out of 3,532 tests, and five related deaths have been registered in Croatia.

There are 5,261 active cases, including 245 hospitalised patients, five of whom are on ventilators, while 2,682 persons are self-isolating.

To date, Croatia has registered 1,148,528 coronavirus cases, the death toll is 16,065 and 70.82% of the adult population has been vaccinated.

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

ZAGREB, 16 April 2022 - The Croatian Association for Patients' Rights said on Friday that due to the fact that more and more complaints are being filed by patients, a new law on patients' rights should be prepared, "because the current one from 2004 is not applicable."

On the occasion of the European Day of Patients' Rights, observed on 18 April, the association issued a statement warning about "an increase in patient complaints and inadequate responses from official institutions"  which have led to "an increased number of lawsuits even outside Croatia."

The association also requests the preparation of a new law on the protection of patients' rights.

The new legislation should propose "mandatory education of health professionals in hospitals on how to respond to complaints and the institution's obligation to appoint a mediator who will resolve disputes between health professionals and patients." It also asks the introduction of sanctions for the violation of patients' rights.

The association demands that it should be "granted public authority so that in addition to internal investigations, an official investigation of patients' complaints can be conducted" by the association "as the only independent institution in the Republic of Croatia, which is also protected by copyright."

The association recalls that earlier this month an initiative called " Patient Ombudsman" was launched to educate healthcare workers about patients' rights and that so far six Croatian hospitals have been granted the status of European Patient Partnership:  KBC Split, KBC Rijeka, KB Sveti Duh, OB Dubrovnik, OB Pula and the hospital for lung diseases in Zagreb's Rockefellerova Street.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

April 7, 2022 – World Health Day is marked under the slogan "Our planet, our health". This year, the data from a large European study reveals the prevalence and incidence of the most common diseases.

HRT reports on the situation in Croatia, where as many as one million and two hundred thousand people have hypertension, while ten percent of the population has diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. These are data from the first such research in Croatia as part of a European project on the incidence of the most common diseases. This year's World Health Day aims to raise awareness of the impact of the environment on human health.

The most common diseases in Croatia are hypertension, chronic lung diseases, and diabetes

Hypertension, chronic lung diseases, and diabetes are the most common diseases of the elderly population in Croatia, according to data on population morbidity presented by the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) for the first time today on World Health Day.

These are data for Croatia collected as part of the Eurostat project "Morbidity Statistics", with the aim of determining the incidence of certain conditions and diseases as determined by the European Commission.

The collected data shows that almost a third of the Croatian population suffers from hypertension, and this share increases significantly in the elderly population - eight out of ten people over the age of 65 have some of the diseases in this group.

Chronic lung diseases also affect the elderly population, with data showing that one in ten people over the age of 65 suffer from such diseases.

The research once again proved a high presence of diabetes among the population: almost 10 percent of the Croatian population suffers from diabetes, with a rise to a quarter of the population over 65.

High prevalence of mood disorders, anxiety, arthrosis, dementia ...

Mood disorders (affective disorders), which were diagnosed in 6.6 percent of the population, also have a high prevalence. They are twice as common in women as in the male population (8.7 percent versus 4.4 percent) and are most often diagnosed in women over 50.

The situation is similar when it comes to anxiety disorders. They are twice as common in women as in men (16.7 percent versus 8.3 percent), and especially affect the female population after the age of 50.

Osteoarthritis has a relatively high prevalence - 10.8 percent of the population, ischemic heart disease - 5.8 percent and cerebrovascular disease - 2.9 percent.

The prevalence of dementia (including Alzheimer's disease) in the age group over 60 is 2.9 percent, with it being twice as common in women after the age of 70.

The reference period was from 2015 to 2017, data were collected from 1 March 2019 to 1 September 2020. In addition to Croatia, a number of countries took part in the project, including Belgium, Germany, Finland, France, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, and Poland.

The publication is the beginning of systematic data collection on the frequency of leading public health problems in Croatia based on prevalence (total number of cases) and incidence (number of new cases), not just on the use of health care, which is a big qualitative step in national health statistics.

“The World Health Organization estimates that more than thirteen million deaths worldwide, including 1.4 million deaths in the European Region of the World Health Organization are related to avoidable environmental factors”, said Primarius Iva Pejnović Franelić, MD, Ph.D. of the Croatian office of the World Health Organization.

For more, make sure to check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 26 March 2022 - The Daffodil Day, traditionally observed in Croatia in March to raise awareness of breast cancer, was again marked by outdoor events in the main squares in Croatian cities on Saturday, after a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic when only online events were held on that occasion.

In Zagreb's "Trg bana Jelačića" and "Cvjetni" squares, citizens could get information about this malignant disease. 

Also, a mobile mammography van arrived in Zagreb's main square to offer free medical checks as part of the 26th edition of Daffodil Day.

On the occasion of this year's Daffodil Day, Health Minister Vili Beroš said that the mortality caused by breast cancer had declined by 25%, as a result of the national turnout of 60% to examinations within the National Breast Cancer Screening Programme.

Breast cancer most frequently diagnosed malignant disease among women

Breast cancer mortality has been falling in Croatia for the fifth consecutive year, the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) said recently ahead of Daffodil Day, noting that the disease was no longer the leading cause of mortality in women.

Breast cancer is now the third leading type of cancer causing death in the female population, after lung and colon cancer.

In terms of breast cancer mortality, Croatia ranks 15th in the EU, which is better than average.

In 2019, Croatia recorded 2,999 cases of breast cancer (143.2 cases per 100,000 population), and 722 women died of that disease in 2020 (34.7 deaths per 100,000 population).

Due to population ageing, it is forecast that more and more women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

ZAGREB, 10 March 2022 - World Kidney Day was marked on Thursday at the Croatian Medical Association with the message about the importance of prevention and for a national action plan to be launched in Croatia for the early detection of chronic kidney disease, which is something that one in ten adults contract.

Chronic kidney disease does not have any symptoms, it is not painful and remains undetected, which is why it is important to launch a national early detection programme, the president of the Croatian Association for Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Mario Laganović, told a press conference.

World Kidney Day, which is marked on the second Thursday in March, was marked in Croatia for the 17th year in a row and this year's slogan is "With knowledge to better care of kidney patients."

Laganović presented the results of an initial screening programme for early detection of chronic kidney disease that was conducted in 40 family doctors' offices throughout Croatia. The screening encompassed 428 at-risk patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and a family history of kidney disease.

Undetected kidney damage was identified in 23% of the patients, which indicates that its frequency among at-risk groups is much higher than in the general population.

"The results speak in favour of the need for a programme to be launched at the national level for early detection and treatment of chronic kidney diseases such as those which already exist for diabetes, heart disorders and malignant diseases," Laganović said.

His colleague Lada Zibar called on those in power to dedicate attention to kidneys for the sake of the well-being of patients but also for the healthcare system because the cost of haemodialysis for a patient costs between HRK 100,000 and 150,000 a year.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 8 Feb 2022 -  A device for the inhalation of nitric oxide by premature babies was delivered to the neonatology ward in Split by local firefighters on Tuesday.

The device was donated to the hospital after a fund-raising event organised by the firefighters' organisation in the City of Split.

The head of the ward, Mirjana Bucat, sad at today's ceremony that the device would be be useful in the treatment of acute hypoxic pulmonary hypertension from which premature babies could suffer. She said that annually there were five to seven such cases in their hospital.