IS THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA FOLLOWING THE TREND IN SALMONELLOSIS IN RELATION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION?

Abstract

Salmonellosis remains a persistent public health threat globally and within the European Union, as shown by statistical data from 2014 to 2023. This review compares the incidence of non-typhoidal salmonellosis in the Republic of Croatia with trends in European Union member states, drawing on both European and national infectious disease surveillance data. Across the EU, 810,082 cases of salmonellosis were reported during this ten-year period, with an average morbidity rate of 18.2 per 100,000 inhabitants; the highest count occurred in 2015 and the lowest in 2020 - a decline likely associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Croatia, 11,896 cases were registered during the same period, with the highest number in 2015 and the lowest in 2021, and an average morbidity rate of 29.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. With respect to age groups, the greatest variation among EU member states was observed in children aged 0-4 years (23.5%) and adults aged ≥65 years (17.8%). Croatia follows the EU trend in the youngest group (28.9%) but stands out due to a significantly lower proportion of cases (10.5%) in the oldest population. The predominant serotype in the EU is Salmonella Enteritidis (59.8%), with particularly high proportions in Poland (89.7%) and Hungary (75.3%),
whereas Croatia mirrors the EU average at 60.0%. Salmonella Typhimurium is the second most common serotype, with higher prevalence in Germany, Cyprus, and Croatia. Salmonellosis unfortunately results in fatalities: during the observed decade, 1,049 deaths were reported in the EU (primarily in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Czech Republic), and 9 deaths (0.9% of the total) were recorded in Croatia. Although salmonellosis cases declined in 2020, an upward trend has been observed across the EU in subsequent years.