Epidemiological characteristics of rickettsial diseases in Croatia.

Objective: To show the presence and prevalence of rickettsial diseases and the geographic distribution in Croatia.

Methods: The pattern of these diseases was monitored during the 1992-2003 period.

Results: The rickettsial diseases that occur sporadically in the littoral of Croatia (Adriatic islands and the coastal area) include Mediterranean spotted fever, murine typhus, Brill-Zinsser disease, and a clinical entity known as rickettsioses.