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. 

Active Lyme disease of the central nervous system cannot be detected with an ELISpot test.

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.

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.

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).

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.

The Netherlands is the first country where the burden of disease due to Lyme disease has been determined.