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.

The number of people with tuberculosis (TB) in the Netherlands increased slightly in 2021, reaching 680. This figure is 9% higher than it was in 2020 (622 patients).

The Committee for Practical Tuberculosis Control (CPT) will be transferred per 1 January 2022 to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) after a period of 70 years with KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation. 

The COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of the West Nile Virus in 2020 show that so-called emerging zoonoses pose a risk to the Netherlands.

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.

Last year, the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in the Netherlands fell sharply. The 17% drop is the largest in fifty years. In 2020, 623 cases were notified compared to 754 in 2019.

Each year, at the request of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, RIVM prepares an overview of the most important zoonoses and indicates their prevalence in the Netherlands.

In 2019, the number of people with tuberculosis (TB) in the Netherlands decreased to 759. This is 5 per cent less than in 2018, when 797 were reported.

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.