Epidemiological analysis of tuberculosis in the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia during 1901-1910.

AIM To analyze data on epidemiology and treatment of tuberculosis from the sources related to the history and epidemiology of tuberculosis in the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia in the 1900-1910 period. METHODS Epidemiological data were obtained from the statistical yearbooks of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia for years 1905 and 1910. A number of sources and publications on the history of medicine, especially on the history of tuberculosis in the studied period were analyzed. Mortality ratio, birth rate ratio, and population growth were calculated. Tuberculosis mortality per 100,000 inhabitants was calculated for four major cities and eight counties of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia. The difference in tuberculosis mortality rates between urban and rural areas and socio-economic situation and organization of the health service were analyzed. The incidence, prevalence, and morbidity from tuberculosis were not analyzed because of the lack of data. RESULTS The tuberculosis mortality ratio per 100,000 inhabitants in the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia were constantly high (above 400 on average), with higher mortality ratio in urban than in rural areas. According to the opinion of the Croatian physicians and statistical data of the period, this was due to the constant growth of population, insufficient health care system, and bad living conditions. The highest tuberculosis mortality rates were in the cities of Zemun (600-800) and Zagreb (500-700), and in the counties of Srijem (600-400), Virovitica (600-400), and Lika- Krbava (500-400). CONCLUSION There was a concordance between the statistical data and the publications, reports, and articles written in the 19th and 20th century on tuberculosis situation in the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia. The analysis showed that tuberculosis was one of the major causes of death in the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia from 1901 to 1910. This fact had a significant influence on tuberculosis prevention and eradication efforts in the first half of the 20th century in Croatia and laid basis for further and more elaborate measures against tuberculosis epidemics.