News | RIVM

Predicting who will experience symptoms after Lyme disease remains challenging

Each year, approximately 27,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease. For most, the symptoms disappear after treatment with antibiotics. Unfortunately, 25% of those treated have chronic symptoms, such as fatigue, concentration disorders or pain.

Number of Lyme disease diagnoses remains high

In 2021, the number of Lyme disease diagnoses with a red ring or rash– known as an erythema migrans, or EM – remained as high as in the previous survey in 2017. GPs diagnosed 25,600 patients with a red ring or rash caused by the Lyme bacteria.

New test for Lyme disease is not reliable

To determine whether someone has Lyme disease, doctors in the Netherlands often use antibody tests. For some time now, so-called cellular tests have been available on the market.

Verschillende commerciële laboratoria gebruiken zogeheten cellulaire testen voor Lyme. Helaas zijn niet betrouwbaar.

Ten years of Tick Radar 80,000 tick bite reports; chances of being bitten highest in Drenthe

After recording 80,000 tick bites in 10 years via Tekenradar.nl, we now know that you are most likely to be bitten by a tick in Drenthe. Quickly removing the tick halves the chance of contracting Lyme disease.

Spread of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the Netherlands

Every year about 1.5 million ticks bite someone in the Netherlands, especially between March and October. Most people will not get sick of that.

Towards a sustainable, healthy future for everyone: EU project INHERIT offers policy solutions

Today, on 10 December a policy toolkit will be presented at the final conference of the European four-year research project INHERIT.

EU air policy gives an average of 6 extra years of life in the Netherlands

Since the 1970s, European policies to improve air quality have resulted in fewer emissions in many countries.

New environmental noise and health guidelines

Exposure to environmental noise is expected to cause more health problems in the Netherlands. There is increasingly more noise, and new houses are being built closer to noise sources.

Environmental noise; girl with fingers in her ears

Residential Wood Burning Alert in unfavourable weather conditions

As of this autumn, RIVM will advise against burning wood in unfavourable weather conditions and or poor air quality.

RIVM will calculate temporary background value for PFAS in soil

In the coming weeks, RIVM will derive a temporary background value for PFAS in Dutch soil. This will be done based on measurement data from the provinces in the Netherlands.