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.

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.

RIVM has derived temporary background values for two types of PFAS in Dutch soil: PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluoro octanoic acid).

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.

Perfluoro (PFAS) is a group of substances that contains PFOS, PFOA and GenX. Perfluoro substances often occur as pollution in ground water and drinking water.

Active Lyme disease of the central nervous system cannot be detected with an ELISpot test.

RIVM proposes water quality standards for perfluoro octanoic acid (PFOA). PFOA is a man-made chemical that is used to protect surfaces.

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

The societal costs of Lyme disease have been determined for the Netherlands for the first time. The disease appears to cost nearly EUR 20 million each year.