Slightly fewer adult smokers In 2018, 22.4 per cent of the Dutch adult population indicated they were occasional smokers.
Animal-free innovations in safety assessment of chemicals How can the process of validation, acceptance and use of animal-free innovative approaches to assess the safety of chemicals be facilitated?
First products Dutch Public Health Foresight study available in English In 2017, RIVM launched a Trend Scenario, as well as three thematic reports about the future demand for health care, technology and wider determinants of health.
Risks of potential release of genetically modified mosquitoes evaluated On Saba, a Dutch Caribbean island, diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika can be reduced by the use of genetically modified mosquitoes.
Trend scenario PHF- 2018 identifies societal challenges for the future If historical trends continue unchanged, dementia will be the leading cause of disease burden in 2040 and the main cause of death.
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.
Blood spot test extended as of 1 January 2017 to include two more disorders As of 1 January 2017, the disorders alpha and beta thalassaemia will be added to the neonatal blood spot (‘heel prick’) screening programme.
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).
Newborn heel prick screening starts on St Eustatius and Saba On 26 October 2015, heel prick screening started for all newborns on St Eustatius and Saba.
Interspecies website transferred from RIVM to Utrecht University The Interspecies website which helps researchers to reduce and refine the use of laboratory animals is transferred to the 3Rs database Programme of the 3Rs-Centre Utrecht Life Sciences (ULS) of Utr