From mid-September, young people born between 1 May and 31 December 2004 will receive an invitation for a vaccination against meningococcal disease.

The vaccination rate for vaccines included in the National Immunisation Programme has dropped slightly by about 1 percent.

From 1984-2006, employees of the Dutch Ministry of Defence were exposed to chromium-6 during maintenance work.

On Saba, a Dutch Caribbean island, diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika can be reduced by the use of genetically modified mosquitoes.

Meningococcal disease is a very serious infectious disease that can cause meningitis or blood poisoning. Children are immunised against meningococcal serogroup C at 14 months.

Modifications to the National Immunisation Programme have led to fewer cases of whooping cough among children.

Since August 2014, there has been an increase in the number of Chikungunya patients in the Caribbean region. Travellers who visit the region can become infected there.