Q fever in Dalmatia, Croatia

Abstract

Q fever has been a well-known and mandatory notifable disease in Croatia from 1954; it occurs usually sporadically in areas predominantly rich with sheep and goats [1]. The mean annual incidence of Q fever in Croatia from 1994 to 2002 was 0.87 reported cases per 100 000 population but in 2003 and 2004 this incidence rose to 3.44 per 100 000. This change in epidemiology was predominantly due to two large outbreaks in north and mid Dalmatia, the central part of the Croatian Adriatic coast.