Moderate flu season Last winter season, the duration and severity of the influenza epidemic was moderate compared to previous years.
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).
Lab tests alone not conclusive for diagnosis of Lyme disease Lyme disease can cause a variety of complaints in patients. Laboratory tests for the disease can support medical practitioners in making a diagnosis but are not necessarily conclusive.
Need for circular use of materials in construction Construction and demolition waste are being recycled on a large scale to use as a foundation for e.g. roads, but recycled building materials are hardly ever used in the construction of buildings.
Nanotechnology increasingly used in medical devices The application of nanotechnology to design and produce medical devices is increasing. RIVM provides an overview of nanotechnology enabled medical devices.
Flu season in the winter of 2014 / 2015 more severe and longer than preceding years The flu epidemic in the winter of 2014 / 2015 lasted 21 weeks and as such was the longest epidemic ever recorded in the Netherlands. Nearly two million people suffered from flu-like symptoms.
Major loss of healthy life years due to long-term complaints after Lyme disease The Netherlands is the first country where the burden of disease due to Lyme disease has been determined.
The number of STI tests keeps increasing The number of clients tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at Dutch STI clinics has increased since 2004.
Is screening for sexually transmitted infections as part of HIV care cost-effective in the Netherlands? Routine screening for anorectal chlamydia among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) could avert further spread of chlamydia and HIV in the total MSM population.
Regional differences in testing rates underestimate incidence of LGV epidemic Until 2003, Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), an aggressive form of chlamydia, was considered to be a rare tropical disease, endemic to Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.