Hantavirus infections are diseases caused by hantaviruses (officially orthohantaviruses). There are different types of hantaviruses. Mice and rats in particular can carry these viruses. They can transmit the virus to humans. In the Netherlands, this is very rare.

SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19. The symptoms often resemble the common cold at first. Some people do not become ill at all, or are only mildly ill from the virus. Others may become seriously ill and sometimes even die from the disease. Some people keep having symptoms for a long time after having COVID-19. If their symptoms persist for longer than 3 months, it is called post-COVID.

Diseases that are naturally transmitted from animals to humans are called zoonoses. Outbreaks or events involving new or re-emerging zoonoses also occur in the Netherlands. New zoonotic diseases will continue to emerge. An appropriate response to emerging zoonoses requires close collaboration between medical and veterinary professionals. In this topic, we elaborate on the One Health approach in the Netherlands and our national and international activities on signalling, assessing and controlling zoonoses.

Zoonoses are infections  that are naturally transmissible directly or indirectly between animals and humans. Domestic animals, farm animals, wild animals or rodents such as mice and rats, who may or may not be affected themselves, carry zoonotic diseases.