News | RIVM

Participation in National Immunisation Programme shows slight decrease

Participation in the National Immunisation Programme has fallen slightly, showing a decrease of 1 to 2 percentage points.

Current knowledge on microplastics in the soil is still inadequate

A literature review carried out by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has concluded that reliable standard techniques should be developed to analyse microplastics in the soil.

From 1 June 2022, heel prick test also screens for muscle disease SMA, bringing number of screened diseases to 26

From 1 June 2022, the heel prick test for Dutch newborns will also screen for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMA is a serious hereditary muscle condition. Detecting this disease at an early stage enables early treatment.

Tailor-made information will help immigrants make decisions on taking part in screening programmes

Immigrants are relatively less likely to take part in preventive screening programmes, such as cancer screening. This is partly due to the language barrier and a lack of knowledge, according to a doctoral thesis by Nora Hamdiui.

RIVM calls for increased involvement of scientific community in solving plastic crisis

Industry and policymakers are not availing themselves enough of the available scientific knowledge when it comes to smarter ways of dealing with plastics.

RIVM expands HPV vaccination programme: girls and boys protected from six types of cancer with one vaccine

Now not only girls, but also boys will have the opportunity to protect themselves from cancer caused by HPV.

Jongen en meisjes poseren op een kruk voor campagneposter HPV vaccin

Nature Nanotechnology publishes RIVM research on plastics

On Thursday 20 January, Nature Nanotechnology published the article Quantitative tracing of uptake and transport of submicrometre plastics in crop plants using lanthanide chelates as a dual-functional tracer.

The National Immunisation Programme: the number of disease notifications decreased substantially in 2020

In 2020, fewer people fell ill from a disease against which vaccination is included in the National Immunisation Programme than in 2019. This is most likely due to coronavirus measures, such as social distancing, handwashing, and travel restrictions.

Vaccination coverage increases for second consecutive year, by 10% for HPV

The percentage of children receiving vaccinations from the National Immunisation Programme rose again last year. Another striking note is the 10% increase in HPV vaccination, rising to 63%.

Het aantal jonge vrouwen dat zich laat vaccineren tegen HPV is toegenomen met 10%

Breast cancer screening resumes on Bonaire after COVID-19 hiatus

Women aged 50 to 75 years on Bonaire can participate in the breast cancer screening programme again as of Wednesday, May 26, 2021. This was temporarily halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.