Between 24 March and 31 July 2009, 342 clinically diagnosed cases of rubella were notified in five municipalities in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fourteen cases were laboratory-confirmed by positive IgG against rubella virus. Four virus isolates were obtained and identified as genotype 2B strains, with one isolate differing by a single mutation in the region of the E1 gene. This ongoing outbreak revealed gaps in the immunisation programme during the war in BiH (1992-1995) and highlights the need to revise legislation to permit immunisation of children above 14 years of age with measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and to introduce supplemental immunisation activities.

Exposure to blood borne pathogens poses a serious risk to healthcare workers (HCWs). This study was undertaken to investigate knowledge, attitudes and practices among HCWs towards blood borne pathogens. We carried out a cross sectional KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice) study, using self-administered questionnaire. The study population consisted of 127(23.6%) physicians, and 410 (76.4%) nurses and laboratory technicians. Factor analysis and conditional multiple logistic regression were used in statistical analysis. We found that the knowledge of the epidemiological characteristics of blood-borne infection, the risk of acquisition and available preventative measures among HCWs is insufficient. Doctors were more knowledgeable about the transmissibility of blood borne pathogens regarding sexual transmission after percutaneous exposure (odds ratio) OR=2.71; 95% (confidence interval) CI=1.51–4.84, OR=2.45; 95% CI=1.21–4.96), respectively. Nurses reported professional exposure to patient’s blood more often than doctors (OR=0.90; 95% CI=0.84–0.96). Negative attitudes towards HIV positive patients were also noted. Less than half of HCWs used appropriate barriers (gloves, mask, and glasses) to protect them regularly. The compulsory preventive measures implied by the results of this study are continuous education, immunization against Hepatitis B, implementing Standard Precautions, as well as the development of written guidelines on the prevention of blood-borne infections.

INTRODUCTION There are only a limited number of researches on the frequency, extent, causality and the location of injuries among young people. It is difficult to say to which extent the risky behavior in youth is really spread, because there are no routine data on this issue. In the Republic of Srpska, the first nationwide survey on health behavior of school aged children was conducted, comprising a very important area of health behavior related to injuries, violence and harassment. The aim of this paper was to investigate the risky behavior of school children in the Republic of Srpska in relation to injuries, violence and harassment. MATERIAL AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted throughout the entire territory of the Republic of Srpska during 2002, on a selected sample of schools and covered a total of 1783 pupils, 15 years of age. The survey instrument was the international standard questionnaire, modified for the Republic of Srpska region. RESULTS Almost a quarter of all polled school children of both sexes have participated in fights. More than 10% of boys carry weapons. Injuries have mostly occurred during sports activities, on sports grounds (35.8%), at home (26.9%), in the school yard (14.5%), in the street or parking lots (11.4%) and in the countryside (5.6%). CONCLUSION The existing violence and injuries among school children indicate a clear need for improvement of mutual communication and tolerance among pupils and involvement of all relevant community members: parents, teachers, health workers and the entire society in health education of school children.

INTRODUCTION Prevalence study is simple, cheap and fast method that provides information about hospital-acquired infections (HAI). OBJECTIVE To assess the HAI prevalence at different surgical departments in the Clinical Center of Banjaluka. METHOD A point prevalence study design was used. All patients (N = 174) hospitalized on July, 1st, 1999 were included in the study. The study was performed by following the CDC guidelines. All patients with clinically manifested infections on the day of study in all surgical departments were recorded. infections of more than one site in the same patient were considered separate infections. RESULTS The overall prevalence of patients with HAI was 16.1% (28/174; 95%CI = 10.4-21.6) and the overall HAI prevalence was 18.4% (32/174). Surgical-site infections were the most prevalent (6.3%) followed by skin/soft tissue infections (4.6%) and urinary tract infections (4.0%). More than two thirds (87.5%) of HAI were microbiologically documented. The most commonly isolated microorganisms were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (29.7%), Enterobacter spp. (24.3%) and Staphylococcus aureus (16.2%). CONCLUSION This point prevalence study clearly showed the magnitude of HAI problem at different surgical departments in the Clinical Center of Banjaluka, the most prevalent anatomic localizations of HAI, and the most common causes.