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.

Almost one third (30%) of all deaths from foodborne diseases are in children under the age of five years, despite the fact that they make up only 9% of the global population.

In 2014, fewer outbreaks of food-borne infections and food poisoning occurred in relation to previous years.

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

The number of clients tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at Dutch STI clinics has increased since 2004.

RIVM researchers Arie Havelaar and Arno Swart received the prestigious Best Paper Award 2014 of the Society for Risk Analysis.

In recent years the Netherlands has witnessed an increase in the number of cases of gastroenteritis caused by the Campylobacter bacterium.

Routine screening for anorectal chlamydia among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) could avert further spread of chlamydia and HIV in the total MSM population.

Until 2003, Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), an aggressive form of chlamydia, was considered to be a rare tropical disease, endemic to Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

In 2012, the number of new consultations at Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) clinics in the Netherlands increased by 7% over the previous year.