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.

Immigrants are relatively less likely to take part in preventive screening programmes, such as cancer screening. This is partly due to the language barrier and a lack of knowledge, according to a doctoral thesis by Nora Hamdiui.

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.

Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the health care capacity in the Netherlands is expected to come under severe pressure in the coming period.

A number of European countries are currently seeing outbreaks of measles. Before the start of the summer season, RIVM has therefore updated its immunisation recommendation for measles.

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.

There are a number of promising biobased alternatives to controversial polar aprotic solvents, as revealed in a report from Wageningen Food & Biobased Research commissioned by RIVM .

Vaccination coverage for vaccinations in the Dutch National Vaccination Program (NIP) decreased slightly by about half a percent for the third consecutive year.