History of eradication of malaria in Croatia

Malaria as a disease of miasmatic origin was known of as early as in the Ancient times. The first written documents on malaria in Croatia date from the 16th century, and concern Istria. Until the end of the 16th century, malaria was spread on almost the whole territory of Croatia. The first studies of the disease were performed as early as in the 18th century. The first piece of work on malaria in Croatia "De morbo Naroniano tractatus" (on the "Neretva disease") was written by Paduan professor Giusepe Antonio Pujati (1701-1760). The term "malaria" (after the Italian mala-aria, meaning bad air) was first mentioned in the gazette "Danica Ilirska" in 1837. During the 19th century, the sanitization of malaric areas in Istria and the Neretva valley was carried out with the aim of eradication of the disease. However, the first significant results were not achieved until the beginning of the 20th century following the arrival of Dr. Robert Koch and his associates to the Islands of Brijuni. They managed to eradicate malaria by systematic quininisation of the whole population and a number of other procedures like land-improvement or population education. Robert Koch's method of eradication of malaria showed outstanding results in 1903. According to physician Mauro Gioseffi's report from 1932 there haven't been significant outbreaks of malaria since those times.