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.
Influenza-like Illness Incidence Is Not Reduced by Influenza Vaccination Influenza vaccination reduces the number of influenza virus infections but not the overall number of illness.
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).
Every year, 300,000 tick bites in urban areas One in 5 tick bites occurs in an urban area. Although most tick bites occur in the countryside, many people are bitten in urban areas as well.
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.
Playing sports on synthetic turf fields with rubber granulate is safe New research by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) shows it is safe for people to play sports on synthetic turf fields with an infill of rubber granulate.
RIVM starts field research into rubber granulate RIVM has started to take samples of rubber granulate from 100 synthetic turf fields in the Netherlands.
Moderate flu season Last winter season, the duration and severity of the influenza epidemic was moderate compared to previous years.
First patient infected by tick-borne encephalitis virus For the first time, a person in the Netherlands has fallen ill after a bite from a tick carrying the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBE virus).
Less air pollution from traffic and industry but increased contribution from agriculture International air policy has shown good results in Europe: in the past 35 years the air has become cleaner. Nevertheless air pollution is still an important cause of premature death.