Spread of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the Netherlands 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.
Population screening programmes temporarily on hold Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the health care capacity in the Netherlands is expected to come under severe pressure in the coming period.
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.
Slightly fewer adult smokers In 2018, 22.4 per cent of the Dutch adult population indicated they were occasional smokers.
Young people who use screens before sleeping have more sleep problems Young people (13-18 years) who use light-emitting screens daily in the hour before going to sleep have more sleep problems.
New standard for exposure assessment of cleaning products RIVM has updated the standard for exposure assessment of cleaning products in the ConsExpo Cleaning Products Fact Sheet.
Alertness about the Zika virus still needed for pregnant women Since May 2015, there has been a Zika virus outbreak in South and Central America, including the Caribbean. The Zika virus can cause birth defects, including microcephaly (small head size).
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.
Guus Velders in Nature's "Ten people that mattered this year" Researcher Dr Guus Velders of RIVM has made the Nature top-10 list of 2016. This means that, according to Nature, he was one of the 10 most influential scientists in 2016.
RIVM research basis for historic climate agreement on HFCs Scientific research by RIVM’s Guus Velders stood partly at the basis of the HFC global climate agreement.