Vaccination rate again drops slightly, HPV vaccination rate drops considerably The vaccination rate for vaccines included in the National Immunisation Programme has dropped slightly by about 1 percent.
Protection of Defence personnel against health risks of chromium-6 was inadequate From 1984-2006, employees of the Dutch Ministry of Defence were exposed to chromium-6 during maintenance work.
Alertness about the Zika virus still needed for pregnant women Since May 2015, there has been a Zika virus outbreak in South and Central America, including the Caribbean. The Zika virus can cause birth defects, including microcephaly (small head size).
Blood spot test extended as of 1 January 2017 to include two more disorders As of 1 January 2017, the disorders alpha and beta thalassaemia will be added to the neonatal blood spot (‘heel prick’) screening programme.
Newborn heel prick screening starts on St Eustatius and Saba On 26 October 2015, heel prick screening started for all newborns on St Eustatius and Saba.
RIVM participates in large EU project to head up global fight against infectious diseases COMPARE, a large EU project intends to speed up the detection of, and response to disease outbreaks among humans and animals worldwide, through the use of new genome technology.
No new MERS patients in the Netherlands Almost two months ago, two Dutch people were diagnosed with the MERS coronavirus.
International study finds MERS coronavirus in raw dromedary camel milk Milk from dromedary camels infected with the MERS coronavirus may contain the virus, and consuming this raw milk may thus pose a risk to public health.
RIVM involvement in UN/EU missions RIVM-experts from the Environmental Assessment Unit (EAU) have undertaken two missions involving an emergency situation in the Solomon Islands and an environmental assessment in Georgia.
Clinical condition Dutch MERS patients improving The two patients who were diagnosed last week with the MERS coronavirus are now on the mend.