Predicting who will experience symptoms after Lyme disease remains challenging Each year, approximately 27,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease. For most, the symptoms disappear after treatment with antibiotics. Unfortunately, 25% of those treated have chronic symptoms, such as fatigue, concentration disorders or pain.
National Immunisation Programme: slightly more cases in 2022, but fewer than before the COVID-19 pandemic In 2022, a slightly higher number of people in the Netherlands contracted diseases covered by the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) compared to 2021. This increase is likely due to the easing of coronavirus measures, such as social distancing.
Adherence to Physical Activity Guidelines particularly low among young adults The number of people in the Netherlands aged four and over who meet the Physical Activity Guidelines has fallen since 2020. In 2022, 44.3% of the population was sufficiently physically active.
New Zoonoses Report out now: avian flu most notable outbreak in 2022 Throughout 2022, the Netherlands faced a persistent avian flu outbreak, affecting 76 poultry farms. The virus also infected numerous wild birds and various wild mammals. These findings are presented in the Zoonoses Report, an annual publication issued jointly by RIVM and the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
Combined exposure to high amounts of lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic increases risk of kidney damage People can come into contact with chemicals that may affect their health through food and drinking water.
Increase in number of additives in tobacco products A total of 673 different types of additives are used by manufacturers in their tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco) and the number of additives used per tobacco product type incre
Metals in tobacco harmful to health Growing tobacco plants acquire metals from soil, fertilisers, and industrial pollution. Smoking liberates some of these metals from tobacco into smoke to be inhaled by the smoker and bystanders.
RIVM writes Novel Tobacco Products paper for WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) has just published a Report of the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg).
New Lyme disease study in the Netherlands At the start of the “Tick Awareness Week”, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and Wageningen UR are commencing a large-scale study on the long-term effects of