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Copyright of Paediatria Croatica, Supplement is the property of Paediatria Croatica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Whooping cough (pertussis) is endemic and epidemic disease caused by bacterium Bordetella pertussis (Bp) representing a remarkable cause of morbidity and mortality among young children. Although active immunization significantly decreased the incidence of pertussis, the disease still remains a relevant public health burden worldwide, and it presents as an atypical mild disease in adults and severe disease in infants. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates about 16 million cases of pertussis with 195.000 deaths worldwide in 2008, 95% of which occurred in countries with high vaccination coverage. Challenged with new epidemiological trend, great efforts were invested to introduce new vaccine strategies. The purpose of this paper is to describe modern epidemiological trends in pertussis, and to compare new vaccine strategies.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotavirus is a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in children less than 5 years of age worldwide, with millions of cases every year, high mortality in low income countries and high costs of health care. Rotaviruses are characterized by great diversity of genotypes whose distribution changes depending on the season and geographic area. Infection caused by one genotype protects against severe forms of infection with other genotypes. This principle represents the basis of rotavirus vaccine development. The most effective mode of protection against rotavirus infection is vaccination. There are currently two vaccines recommended by World Health Organization: monovalent vaccine, which contains attenuated human G1P[8] strain, and pentavalent human-bovine reassortant vaccine (G1-G4 and P[8]). Numerous studies have shown high efficacy of both vaccines in prevention of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis. Therefore many countries have introduced the vaccine into their national immunization program. In Croatia, rotavirus vaccines are provided only for children at increased risk. The data on rotavirus epidemiology, including geographic, seasonal and age distribution of genotypes, are necessary before vaccine implementation in the national immunization program. Recently conducted national study will show this important information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measles has rebounded in the European Region. The disease affected 21.315 people and caused 35 deaths in 2017. Countries with most measles cases have experienced a range of challenges in recent years, such as declines in overall routine immunization coverage, consistently low coverage among some marginalized groups, interruptions in vaccine supply or underperforming disease surveillance systems. Actions to stop the current outbreaks and prevent new ones are taking place on various fronts. They include raising public awareness, immunizing health-care professionals and other adults at particular risk, addressing challenges in access, and identifying non-immune groups of patients. The importance of continuous routine immunization of children must not be underestimated. Possibility of transmission to unimmunized contacts highlights the importance of high vaccination coverage to prevent reoccurrence of endemic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Paediatria Croatica, Supplement is the property of Paediatria Croatica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Paediatria Croatica, Supplement is the property of Paediatria Croatica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Changes in antimicrobial flora that have occurred in the last two decades, which are mainly caused by direct human action through excessive use of antibiotics, both in the hospital, and in the outpatient environment, actualized the necessity of finding alternative therapeutic solutions. Slow and/or unsuccessful development of new antimicrobial drugs has resulted in a re-introduction into clinical use of some old antibiotics like colistin and fosfomycin, to which, given the long period of non-use or limited use in human medicine, resistance has not developed. Colistin, a polymyxin antibiotic that was developed during fifties, the use of which is due to the risk of undesired side effects abandoned in 70's. After a decade of non-implementation, has become interesting option for clinicians, given the increasing incidence of infections caused by multiply resistant gram negative bacteria. Current recommendations for colistin dosing are mainly based on previous clinical experience, taking into account overestimated risk of nephrotoxicity and lack of modern pharmacokinetic study, resulted in inadequate dosage of the drug, which often resulted in clinical failure. Fosfomycin in therapeutically relevant concentrations shows bactericidal activity against a broad spectrum of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria including methicillin-resistant isolates of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), penicillin - resistant pneumococci, vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE), gram negative bacteria that produce beta-lactamases (eng. extended spectrum beta-lactamases, ESBL) and most strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Even in areas where fosfomycin is often prescribed / used, the emergence of bacterial resistance to the antibiotic for now is rare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]