RIVM European Reference Lab for vector-borne infections The European Commission (EC) has designated RIVM as the current European Reference Lab (EURL) for vector-borne viral pathogens.
Menno de Jong appointed director of RIVM Centre for Infectious Disease Control Starting 1 May 2024, Professor Menno de Jong will take on the role of director of RIVM’s Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb) . He succeeds Jaap van Dissel, who is retiring in April 2024.
Respiratory infections now in season More and more people are coughing and sneezing, although it is not an epidemic at this point. The season in which respiratory infections circulate in the Netherlands has now started. There are various viruses that can cause respiratory infections.
Improper use of methylphenidate Students sometimes use ADHD medicines that have not been prescribed to them in order to study more effectively. It is suspected that they obtain these medicines from other people, who do have a prescription. Sewage research conducted by RIVM supports this theory.
RSV summer peak possibly caused by declining antibodies during COVID-19 pandemic RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common virus that causes cold symptoms. In particularly, young children and vulnerable older people are more likely to become seriously ill if they get it.
No new SARS-CoV-2 variants discovered in wastewater on aircraft from China Wastewater on aircraft from China has not been found to contain any new variants of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 so far. These findings are from several tests performed by RIVM. However, the wastewater was found to contain coronavirus particles.
High rates of RSV in children over the summer, and a late flu epidemic in the 2021-2022 season Hospitals reported an unusually large number of children presenting with RSV over the summer of 2021. The number of positive coronavirus tests rapidly increased after the summer of 2021.
Better monitoring of RSV thanks to new European project RIVM and Nivel contribute to building a European RSV monitoring network. Through the network, European health institutions and laboratories will exchange data on the spread of RSV. This will help us to better monitor the virus.
Launch of the European project RISK-HUNT3R The new Horizon 2020 project RISK-HUNT3R: RISK assessment of chemicals integrating HUman centric Next generation Testing strategies promoting the 3Rs was launched on 1 June.
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?