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.

Now not only girls, but also boys will have the opportunity to protect themselves from cancer caused by HPV.

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.

During World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2019, RIVM has set up an escape room in one of busiest shopping malls in the Netherlands.

The vaccine against the HPV human papillomavirus virus will also become available for boys.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published a provisional health-based guidance value for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

RIVM research shows no causal link between the vaccine against cervical cancer (HPV) and long-term fatigue symptoms in girls.

From mid-September, young people born between 1 May and 31 December 2004 will receive an invitation for a vaccination against meningococcal disease.

The report ‘State of Infectious Diseases in the Netherlands in 2017’ published by RIVM today, provides an overview of the most important developments in infectious diseases in the Netherlands and a

Meningococcal disease is a disease caused by a bacterium, the meningococcus. There are several types of this bacterium. In most cases, it does not make you ill.