The number of people in the Netherlands who have a respiratory infection is increasing. More and more people have symptoms. A significant percentage of these people have the influenza (flu) virus. The annual flu epidemic seems to be starting. Besides the influenza virus, other viruses can also cause respiratory infections.

In the Indian state of West Bengal, two people have contracted Nipah virus disease, which is mainly transmitted by fruit bats. In the Netherlands, the risk of infection with the Nipah virus is negligible. There are no fruit bats here, and no people in this country have the virus. People travelling to West Bengal can reduce the risk of contracting the virus by following the recommendations shown below.

Some of the cut flowers in the Netherlands are grown in Africa or South America. These flowers often contain large amounts of plant protection products. People who work with cut flowers or place them in a vase at home can be exposed to these substances. For this reason, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) carried out measurements on roses.

There are opportunities for a nutrition policy that contributes both to public health and the environment. Existing measures from the National Prevention Agreement (NPA) and the new Coherent Prevention Strategy (SPS) may also have benefits for the environment.

Anxiety and depression issues among young people were already on the rise, but during the COVID-19 pandemic this trend accelerated. The number of young people in the Netherlands at a high risk of anxiety or depressive disorder rose sharply between 2020 and 2022.

With effect from 1 January, Wageningen University & Research (WUR) has appointed Reinskje Talhout as special professor Product appeal and prevention of harmful consumption behaviour within the chair group Sensory Science and Eating Behaviour (SSEB).

Giving antibiotics to family members of a person who has a severe and possibly invasive Group A Strep infection (iGAS) helps prevent them from becoming ill as well. Since January 2023, all family members of a patient with iGAS are offered antibiotics. This policy has lowered the risk of transmission within families by more than 80%.

Professor Isabel Arends will become Director-General of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), an agency of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). The cabinet approved the nomination presented by Mr Rijkaart, Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK). Her appointment will start on 1 April 2026.

A healthy environment is one that is green and offers sufficient space for physical activity and social encounters. However, public space is limited in the Netherlands and its use is under pressure. This is why it is important for municipalities and provinces to be able to make healthy, science-based choices. RIVM has developed a few rules of thumb for this.

In 2023 and 2024, an increasing number of people in the Netherlands fell ill as a result of salmonella. This was reported by RIVM in its State of Infectious Diseases, an annual report that provides an overview of the most notable epidemiological developments in the field of infectious diseases.