Discussion regarding health-based guidance value of PFOA The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a provisional health-based guidance value for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Research: HPV vaccine is safe RIVM research shows no causal link between the vaccine against cervical cancer (HPV) and long-term fatigue symptoms in girls.
Rubber granulate on synthetic turf fields causes environmental impact Use of rubber granulate sourced from car tyres, on synthetic turf fields can be harmful to the environment in the close vicinity of these fields.
New test has no added value in Lyme disease of the central nervous system Active Lyme disease of the central nervous system cannot be detected with an ELISpot test.
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.
Scientific background information on rubber granulate now available in English In December 2016, RIVM published in Dutch the results of its research into the health risks of playing sports on synthetic turf pitches with rubber granulate.
Playing sports on synthetic turf fields with rubber granulate is safe New research by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) shows it is safe for people to play sports on synthetic turf fields with an infill of rubber granulate.
RIVM starts field research into rubber granulate RIVM has started to take samples of rubber granulate from 100 synthetic turf fields in the Netherlands.
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).