News | RIVM

Nationwide study into chlamydia and gonorrhoea

Today, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) launches a nationwide study into chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

Number of STI tests at sexual health centres are rising again

In 2021, more than 138,000 people were tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at a centre for sexual health.

New test for Lyme disease is not reliable

To determine whether someone has Lyme disease, doctors in the Netherlands often use antibody tests. For some time now, so-called cellular tests have been available on the market.

Verschillende commerciële laboratoria gebruiken zogeheten cellulaire testen voor Lyme. Helaas zijn niet betrouwbaar.

Current knowledge on microplastics in the soil is still inadequate

A literature review carried out by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has concluded that reliable standard techniques should be developed to analyse microplastics in the soil.

More STI tests conducted by Sexual Health Centres

In 2021, more people visited a Sexual Health Centre (SHC) to get tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than in 2020. This figure is still lower than in 2019, the year before the coronavirus outbreak.

Ten years of Tick Radar 80,000 tick bite reports; chances of being bitten highest in Drenthe

After recording 80,000 tick bites in 10 years via Tekenradar.nl, we now know that you are most likely to be bitten by a tick in Drenthe. Quickly removing the tick halves the chance of contracting Lyme disease.

RIVM calls for increased involvement of scientific community in solving plastic crisis

Industry and policymakers are not availing themselves enough of the available scientific knowledge when it comes to smarter ways of dealing with plastics.

Nature Nanotechnology publishes RIVM research on plastics

On Thursday 20 January, Nature Nanotechnology published the article Quantitative tracing of uptake and transport of submicrometre plastics in crop plants using lanthanide chelates as a dual-functional tracer.

Microplastics in paint can cause problems in the environment

Companies and organisations in the paint sector are aware that microplastics can cause problems as these particles end up in the environment where they persist and may be harmful to plants and anim

Increase in gonorrhoea and syphilis diagnoses

The number of people who got themselves tested for a sexually transmitted infection (STI) at a Sexual Health Centre (SHC) in 2019 has remained almost the same as in 2018.