Every year, 300,000 tick bites in urban areas One in 5 tick bites occurs in an urban area. Although most tick bites occur in the countryside, many people are bitten in urban areas as well.
Blood spot test extended as of 1 January 2017 to include two more disorders As of 1 January 2017, the disorders alpha and beta thalassaemia will be added to the neonatal blood spot (‘heel prick’) screening programme.
First patient infected by tick-borne encephalitis virus For the first time, a person in the Netherlands has fallen ill after a bite from a tick carrying the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBE virus).
Bacteria slightly more often resistant to last resort antibiotics Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem. In the Netherlands, some bacteria that can cause infections in people are more frequently resistant to antibiotics used as a last resort.
European Antibiotic Awareness Day: the fight against antibiotics resistance Wednesday, 18 November is European Antibiotic Awareness Day. On this day, attention throughout Europe is requested for the responsible use of antibiotics in people and animals.
Newborn heel prick screening starts on St Eustatius and Saba On 26 October 2015, heel prick screening started for all newborns on St Eustatius and Saba.
CAESAR annual report 2014 The World Health Organization (WHO) published its first CAESAR annual report 2014.
Antibiotic resistance is stable, however, more resistant bacteria are expected Over recent years, antibiotic resistance to most agents has remained stable in the Netherlands, and the use of antibiotics has slightly decreased.
RIVM designated as WHO Collaborating Centre Antimicrobial Resistance Epidemiology and Surveillance AMR is one of the major global challenges in infectious disease control.
RIVM participates in large EU project to head up global fight against infectious diseases COMPARE, a large EU project intends to speed up the detection of, and response to disease outbreaks among humans and animals worldwide, through the use of new genome technology.