Teen vaccination against meningococcal disease starts From mid-September, young people born between 1 May and 31 December 2004 will receive an invitation for a vaccination against meningococcal disease.
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.
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.
Meningococcal immunisation recommendations re-examined Meningococcal disease is a very serious infectious disease that can cause meningitis or blood poisoning. Children are immunised against meningococcal serogroup C at 14 months.
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.
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).
Step forward in the battle against pertussis Addition of an extra adjuvant (additive) to the current pertussis vaccines could enhance the effectivity of these vaccines.
Flu season in the winter of 2014 / 2015 more severe and longer than preceding years The flu epidemic in the winter of 2014 / 2015 lasted 21 weeks and as such was the longest epidemic ever recorded in the Netherlands. Nearly two million people suffered from flu-like symptoms.
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.