ZAGREB, May 30, 2018 – Health Minister Milan Kujundžić said on Wednesday that the situation with measles in Croatia was not serious in epidemiological terms and that he did not expect that an isolated case in Dubrovnik might harm the tourist season.
“The situation with measles is not serious, but their appearance in Dubrovnik is a warning sign in the south of the country where the vaccination rate is lowest,” Kujundžić told the press after an inner cabinet meeting.
A 34-year-old man from Ston was admitted to Dubrovnik General Hospital last Friday after spending two and a half weeks in his native Kosovo where he is believed to have contracted measles. He is no longer infectious and is expected to be released later this week.
Local health authorities could not rule out a possibility that the man had infected someone and that the disease would not spread.
Kujundžić said that the vaccination rate in Croatia now stands at about 90%, the lowest rate being recorded in Dubrovnik-Neretva County (56%), while the rate in the adjacent Split-Dalmatia County is 70%. He said that the risk would increase if the rate fell below 90%.
The minister said he was not concerned that the appearance of measles in Dubrovnik would have an adverse impact on the tourist season. “There is no reason for concern. One case doesn’t mean anything in the epidemiological sense,” he said.
