Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) is a leading cause of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and neurodevelopmental disabilities in developed countries. Although high cCMV rates have been reported in populations with high seroprevalence, the cCMV prevalence in low/middle-income countries in Europe has not been defined. Objective: To determine cytomegalovirus (CMV) seroprevalence and the cCMV prevalence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods: Between March 2010 and February 2019, 5222 sera samples from patients seen at the University Clinical Hospital Mostar were tested for CMV IgG. The cord blood samples collected from 2091 infants between July 2011 and January 2013 were analyzed for CMV IgG and CMV DNA. The cCMV prevalence was determined by testing saliva swabs from 1293 infants between November 2015 and October 2016. Results: The overall CMV IgG prevalence was 81.4% (95% confidence interval: 0.8–0.82). Significantly higher prevalence was observed among females (84.9%) than in males (77.0%), and the rate increased from 50.8% in the 1 to 5 years group to 97.7% in the group > 65 years old. Most cord blood samples (2091/1925, 92.1%) were CMV IgG positive, and 2 (0.1%) were CMV DNA positive. Of the 1293 saliva swabs, 8 (0.62%; 95% confidence interval: 0.3–1.2) were CMV positive. All 8 infected infants had asymptomatic cCMV, and none had SNHL at 18 months of age. Conclusions: In a highly CMV seropositive population, the prevalence of cCMV was lower compared with that reported from other low/middle-income countries populations. None of the infected infants had symptomatic infection or SNHL at 18 months.

In this case report we describe a 49 year-old man who presented with chronic urticaria, angioedema and soft stool consistency. During diagnostic examinations Hashimoto's thyroiditis was found even though the patient never had clear symptoms of this disease. Blastocystis hominis was isolated through a stool microbiologic examination, implicating that this parasite can cause the development of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and chronic urticaria. After two-weeks treatment with metronidazole the Blastocystis hominis was eradicated, then urticaria and angioedema disappeared. During the four years of follow-up, the patient presented without any symptoms, whereas thyroid hormones were normalized and anti-thyroid antibodies declined. For the first time in the literature we show that eradication of Blastocystis hominis can prevent the development of both symptomatic Hashimoto's thyroiditis and chronic urticaria.

Measles are a highly contagious and communicable viral disease which may be prevented by a sustained vaccination program. Due to missed vaccination, two major epidemics of measles (1997–1999 and 2014–2015) have been recorded after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) with over 10,000 patients registered. According to the World Health Organization, BH is categorized as a country with endemic transmission of measles. The last measles epidemic was between 2014 and 2015, with 5,083 documented patients in the Federation of BH. In the first four months of 2019, more than 700 measles cases were registered in the same region. Significant transmission rate has been observed in Sarajevo Canton (SC) with 570 documented measles cases. Out of 570 measles cases in SC, 92.5% were unvaccinated. The most affected were children up to 6 years of age (62.8%), with one documented case of death (7-month old infant). In addition to this report, we discussed key stakeholders and possible circumstances responsible for the epidemic. The measles epidemic is still ongoing.

No abstract