[Lyme borreliosis in Croatia from 1987 to 1998--epidemiologic aspects]

Lyme borreliosis is one of the most common diseases originating from natural foci in the Republic of Croatia. Some 200 cases are reported every year to the Epidemiological Department of Croatian National Institute of Public Health, but data from hospital treatment and individual limited research show that the number of infected is certainly higher. Officially reported cases have been used and analysed in this article. Although, aware of the limits of such a source, the results gained with this analysis point to certain epidemiological characteristics of Lyme borreliosis in Croatia, which can be useful. Clinical manifestations might vary, depending on the part of the world, i.e. type of Borrelia involved. In Croatia, skin manifestations are predominant--erythema (chronicum) migrans. The disease generally does not occur in Southern Croatia; it has been only sporadically reported in the area south of Zadar. Although the tick, the vector of this disease, can be found everywhere in Croatia, data about vector species and their presence in the coastal area are not complete or they are missing. Therefore, additional entomological, epidemiological, and clinical research are necessary to clarify the absence of Lyme borreliosis in Southern Croatia.