First Croatian leprosy case in 32 years confirmed

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The news in Croatian

1. uvezen
   koji je donesen ili dopremljen iz druge države ili mjesta ↩︎
2. guba  (f.)
   zarazna kronična bolest kože i živaca koju uzrokuje bakterija Mycobacterium leprae ↩︎
3. antibiotik  (m.)
   ljekovita tvar koja uništava ili zaustavlja rast bakterija u tijelu ↩︎
4. stanje  (n.)
   način na koji se nešto ili netko trenutno nalazi, osobito kad se govori o zdravlju ili situaciji ↩︎
5. stručnjak  (m.)
   osoba koja ima mnogo znanja i iskustva u nekom posebnom području ↩︎
6. paničariti
   jako se bojati i reagirati nerazumno zbog straha ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Where is the infected worker from, and where is the leprosy case confirmed?

Question 2: How is the sick person being treated, and what do experts say about the risk to public health?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
uvezen	imported
guba  (f.)	leprosy
antibiotik  (m.)	antibiotic
stanje  (n.)	condition
stručnjak  (m.)	expert / specialist
paničariti	to panic

Read the full story

Croatian health authorities have confirmed an imported case of leprosy (guba, Hansen’s disease) in a foreign worker, describing the situation as medically controlled and stressing that there is no threat to public health.

The patient is a worker from Nepal who has been living in Croatia with his family for about two years. The disease was diagnosed at the Clinical Hospital Centre (KBC) Split in cooperation with the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ). Doctors say the man is on home-based treatment with antibiotics taken by mouth and that his condition is stable.

Specialists from KBC Split explained that leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. It usually affects the skin and peripheral nerves. The first signs are often skin changes – lighter or darker patches, areas with changed sensation, or nodular lesions. Because these symptoms are not very specific, doctors are more likely to suspect leprosy when a patient comes from a country where the disease still occurs.

According to infectious disease experts, leprosy spreads slowly and is difficult to transmit. Infection typically requires long-term, close contact with an untreated patient over months, for example within the same household. Short, everyday social contacts – at work, on public transport, in shops or clinics – are considered very low risk. The majority of people also have a natural immunity to the disease, and vaccination against tuberculosis (BCG), common in Croatia, may give some additional protection.

Once treatment begins, the patient’s infectiousness usually falls quickly, often within a few days, the HZJZ noted. In this case, all close contacts have been identified and included in a programme of medical checks, preventive medication or follow-up. Authorities state that no wider spread of the disease is expected and that there is no need for extraordinary public health measures.

The HZJZ emphasised that Hansen’s disease is now fully curable using a combination of antibiotics recommended by the World Health Organization. One key feature of the illness is its very long incubation period: symptoms can appear many years, or even more than a decade, after infection. This means a person may be infected abroad, with signs of disease becoming visible only later, in another country. Health officials pointed out that this delayed onset is expected for leprosy and does not indicate a current, active infection chain in Croatia.

Croatia has not had local (autochthonous) cases of leprosy for decades. The current patient represents the first recorded case in 32 years and is described as an isolated, imported case, something that public health experts consider possible in a world with intense travel and labour migration.

After news of the diagnosis appeared in the media, some commentators questioned whether authorities should have informed the public earlier. Health Minister Irena Hrstić rejected suggestions of a cover‑up. She explained that the patient and his contacts were quickly traced and assessed by epidemiologists, and that, under professional guidelines, there was no obligation to issue a special public warning for a single, controlled case.

Hrstić underlined that all infectious diseases, including leprosy, must be reported by law, and that the HZJZ regularly publishes such data in its weekly epidemiological bulletins. Information about this case, she said, will appear in the next official report. Asked whether the public would have learned about the case without media enquiries, she indicated that for isolated cases with no wider risk, there is normally no separate announcement beyond routine reporting.

Medical staff in Split and national experts have repeatedly called for avoiding panic and stigmatisation, especially of foreign workers. They stress that everyday interaction with migrants or tourists does not pose a realistic risk of infection and that the focus of public health work is on early diagnosis, effective treatment and protection of close contacts.

The case has, however, reopened a broader policy discussion about health checks for foreign workers in Croatia. The Health Ministry is preparing a new rulebook on medical examinations for foreign employees, currently under public consultation. Under the draft rules, people coming to work in Croatia from countries with a different epidemiological profile would need to provide more detailed medical documentation from their home country, including records of past illnesses and vaccinations. In some situations, they may also have to show proof of vaccination against diseases that are part of Croatia’s regular immunisation schedule. For those already living and working in Croatia, check‑ups in the domestic health system are planned.

Public health institutions note that Croatia, like other European countries, regularly deals with a wide range of infectious diseases and has established procedures to bring them under control. Officials say that the response to this leprosy case – rapid diagnosis, treatment, contact tracing and clear communication – follows both national regulations and international guidelines, while also aiming to protect the privacy and dignity of the patient.

Info: ‘Croatian Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Croatian’, a language school dedicated to teaching Croatian through various online courses and Croatian classes. It aims to support learners with updates and resources that complement their regular study.