Vol. 9, No 1, 2002 pp. 31 - 33
UC 616.61-004
BALKAN ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY IN BOSNIA AND
HERCEGOVINA
Senaid Trnacevic, Ahmet Halilbasic, Goran Imamovic, Enisa Mesic
University Medical Center, University of Tuzla, Bosnia & Hercegovina
E-mail: goran.imamovic@unmibh.org
Summary. It has been estimated that around 2.000 patients have been
affected by BEN in Bosnia before the war 1992-1995 so that the need for
the assessment of the current situation has emerged for the first time
after a decade of BEN enigma in Bosnia. Therefore, the medical team from
Tuzla University Clinical Centre Renal Unit has visited the affected municipalities
and corresponding medical centers in order to make that assessment. The
main results coming out of this initiative are that BEN Dispansaries, that
used to function before the war, do not function nowadays at all so that
fairly often new BEN cases are detected for the first time at later stages
of the disease when they already require either prepara-tion for replacement
therapy or even urgent life-saving measures. It is necessary to re-establish
the system of surveillance of BEN patients that existed before the war
as soon as possible. Therefore, the Project Proposal has been prepared
to accomplish that goal.
Key words: Balkan endemic nephropathy, epidemiology, research
