Report on the developments of the National Immunisation Programme: national immunisation coverage increased slightly for the first time in five years National immunisation coverage has increased for the first time in five years, for almost all vaccinations. For children born in 2017, vaccination coverage against mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) increased by 0.7% to 93.6%.
Air quality Sint Maarten landfill At the beginning of 2019, RIVM measured the air quality around the landfill at Philipsburg, Sint Maarten for two weeks. No or hardly any harmful substances were measured.
Updated immunisation recommendation for measles: early vaccination before travel A number of European countries are currently seeing outbreaks of measles. Before the start of the summer season, RIVM has therefore updated its immunisation recommendation for measles.
iGEM meetup for teams and supervisors The best synbio projects, including iGEM teams, have one thing in common: cutting edge science in the light of carefully considered societal needs.
RIVM will make measurements around the Sint Maarten landfill From 21 January 2019, a team from RIVM will travel to Sint Maarten to make measurements and take samples at various locations around the landfill in Philipsburg.
Biosafety and Biosecurity on the Global Health Security Agenda Since 2018, the Netherlands leads the way in the field of "Biosafety and Biosecurity" within the international Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA).
Discussion regarding health-based guidance value of PFOA The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a provisional health-based guidance value for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Global Infectious Disease Control hampered by the CBD Nagoya Protocol So far, none of the models used by international networks of biobanks to arrange the legal responsibility under the CBD-Nagoya protocol works efficiently.
Risk of measles outbreaks increases with decreasing vaccination coverage Vaccination coverage for vaccinations in the Dutch National Vaccination Program (NIP) decreased slightly by about half a percent for the third consecutive year.
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).