In the Netherlands, effective prevention and control of infectious diseases is the joint responsibility of a network of health organisations and professionals. RIVM Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology Division, also known as Centre for Infectious Disease Control, is the national knowledge centre and coordinator, providing policy advice to the Dutch Government and supporting professionals in health care and public health.
The RIVM Centre for Infectious Disease Control is responsible for surveillance of infectious diseases, preparedness and response, and supervision of the National Immunisation Programme. There are three specialised laboratories in perinatal screening and diagnostics, immunology and vaccinology, and zoonoses and environmental microbiology.
As the Dutch Coordinating Competent Body, RIVM coordinates nationwide interaction with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. RIVM also hosts eight WHO Collaborating Centres, for example WHO Collaborating Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Epidemiology and Surveillance, WHO Collaborating Centre for Risk Assessment of Pathogens in Food and Water, and WHO Collaborating Centre for Smallpox Vaccine.
RIVM is dedicated to evidence-based public health policy. Driven by public health challenges, we collect data and carry out research in close collaboration with universities and research centres worldwide. Our priorities for international collaboration on infectious disease are vaccine preventable diseases, preparedness and response to emergencies, antimicrobial resistance, mathematical modelling, and molecular epidemiology.
Five specialised centres
National Coordination Centre for Communicable Diseases Control
Centre for Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Surveillance
Centre for Research Infectious Diseases Diagnostics and Screening
Centre for Zoonoses and Environmental Biology
Centre for Immunology of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines
Director: Prof. Jaap van Dissel, PhD