Influenza vaccination reduces the number of influenza virus infections but not the overall number of illness.

On Saba, a Dutch Caribbean island, diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika can be reduced by the use of genetically modified mosquitoes.

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.

Last winter season, the duration and severity of the influenza epidemic was moderate compared to previous years.

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 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.

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

Since August 2014, there has been an increase in the number of Chikungunya patients in the Caribbean region. Travellers who visit the region can become infected there.