The Committee for Practical Tuberculosis Control (CPT) will be transferred per 1 January 2022 to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) after a period of 70 years with KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation. 

The official transfer was made official during an online meeting on 3 December. Jaap van Dissel, Director of RIVM’s Centre for Infectious Disease Control thanked KNCV for its important contributions to the development of tuberculosis control policy over the past 70 years. ‘KNCV will continue to contribute to this effort as a member of the CPT. RIVM is committed to taking over this essential task and is looking forward to continuing KNCV’s good work, as the fight against this centuries-old disease goes on.’

National guidelines for infectious diseases under one roof

RIVM already provides national guidelines for other infectious diseases. Transferring the coordination of tuberculosis guidelines to RIVM ties in well with the institute’s role, as infectious disease guidelines will now be under one roof. This will also help to effectively safeguard the overall infectious disease control efforts that already fall under RIVM’s responsibility. 

National Tuberculosis Control Plan for 2021-2025

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium. The most common form is pulmonary tuberculosis. Every year, approximately 1.5 million people die from this disease worldwide. 
In the Netherlands, around 700 to 900 people are diagnosed with tuberculosis each year. Tuberculosis can be treated effectively, but patients must take medication daily for at least six months.

The ‘National Tuberculosis Control Plan, 2021-2025 Update’, which was also published on 3 December, aims to further reduce the number of TB patients. The efforts include detecting not only the disease, but also infections that could lead to disease later on.

 

Foto: ©WHO Europe / Carl Cordonnier