From 1 June 2022, heel prick test also screens for muscle disease SMA, bringing number of screened diseases to 26 From 1 June 2022, the heel prick test for Dutch newborns will also screen for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMA is a serious hereditary muscle condition. Detecting this disease at an early stage enables early treatment.
Tailor-made information will help immigrants make decisions on taking part in screening programmes Immigrants are relatively less likely to take part in preventive screening programmes, such as cancer screening. This is partly due to the language barrier and a lack of knowledge, according to a doctoral thesis by Nora Hamdiui.
Breast cancer screening resumes on Bonaire after COVID-19 hiatus Women aged 50 to 75 years on Bonaire can participate in the breast cancer screening programme again as of Wednesday, May 26, 2021. This was temporarily halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Population screening programmes temporarily on hold Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the health care capacity in the Netherlands is expected to come under severe pressure in the coming period.
EU air policy gives an average of 6 extra years of life in the Netherlands Since the 1970s, European policies to improve air quality have resulted in fewer emissions in many countries.
Dutch air quality shows little improvement in 2017 In 2017, concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter in most parts of the Netherlands were below European limit values.
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).
Rubber granulate on synthetic turf fields causes environmental impact Use of rubber granulate sourced from car tyres, on synthetic turf fields can be harmful to the environment in the close vicinity of these fields.
Climate change, ozone depletion and air quality need to be addressed coherently Ozone layer depletion, air pollution and climate change need to be addressed in connection with each other.
Scientific background information on rubber granulate now available in English In December 2016, RIVM published in Dutch the results of its research into the health risks of playing sports on synthetic turf pitches with rubber granulate.