News | RIVM

Tick found in Drenthe is a Hyalomma tick

RIVM has investigated the so-called giant tick that was found in Odoorn in the province of Drenthe on 13 July. It is a Hyalomma marginatum female.

If you have found a tick bite, check for others!

One in five people who report having been bitten by a tick on Tekenrader.nl report that they have more than one tick bite. If you have found one tick bite, check for others!

Lyme disease cases have quadrupled

According to a survey by RIVM , 27,000 people were infected with Lyme disease in 2017. In 2014, the last time RIVM reported on the incidence of tick-borne disease, this number was 25,000.

Lyme disease costs EUR 20 million annually

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.

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.

EFSA agrees with RIVM that potential effect of BPA on the immune system requires further attention

RIVM expressed concerns on the effects of bisphenol a (BPA) on the immune system in a report issued in March 2016.

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).

RIVM recommends more stringent EU standards BPA

More stringent European standards for safe exposure of workers and consumers to bisphenol A (BPA) were proposed in 2014 and 2015.

New Lyme disease study in the Netherlands

At the start of the “Tick Awareness Week”, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and Wageningen UR are commencing a large-scale study on the long-term effects of

Biobased alternatives to hormone disrupting substance in cash register receipts

Chemicals made from vegetable or animal waste may be an alternative to the use of the substance Bisphenol A (BPA) in thermal paper. Thermal paper is widely used for cash register receipts.