RIVM Newsletter

Season’s greetings! We wish you happy holidays, and look forward to building a healthier, safer and more sustainable 2022.

Omicron is advancing rapidly in the Netherlands. The Outbreak Management Team (OMT) expects that this variant will be the dominant variant in the Netherlands by the end of December, sooner than previously expected. This rapid spread may lead to a high peak in hospital and ICU admissions – a peak that could significantly exceed care capacity. To prevent this, the OMT has recommended expanding the evening lockdown. Based on that advice, the government has decided to impose a lockdown in the Netherlands from Sunday 19 December until at least Friday 14 January 2022. Read more about the increasing incidence of the Omicron variant in the Netherlands. 

Compliance with Dutch coronavirus measures such as working from home, distancing and testing if you have symptoms increased during the recent period of high infection rates and hospital admissions. Confidence in the Dutch government’s COVID-19 policies has reached its lowest point since the start of the pandemic. This was clear from behavioural research round 17 conducted by RIVM and the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs). Read more.

RIVM has calculated the impact of different ventilation rates on the number of people who become ill due to aerogenic transmission of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in indoor spaces. The difference between no ventilation at all and ventilation according to the minimum Dutch requirements causes the largest decrease in the projected number of people with COVID-19 who have symptoms. Read more. 

More than 15,000 people are taking part in the LongCOVID study conducted by RIVM. Participants with existing long-term symptoms after COVID-19 (Long COVID) reported higher healthcare utilisation. Read more about the first results, seven months into the study.

The Zoonoses Report 2020 covers a number of emerging zoonoses which could suddenly increase in the Netherlands via wild animals, livestock, pets, and ticks, as well as what is being done to prevent such outbreaks from occurring. The most important development in 2020 was the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in March of that year. It turned out that SARS-CoV-2 was not exclusive to humans; animals could also become infected, in particular minks. Another important development was the first bird infection of the West Nile virus (involving a warbler). Read more.

In 2020, the estimated costs of foodborne infections in the Netherlands were 140 million euros lower than in the preceding year. This corresponds to a 30% decrease. Last year, far fewer people fell ill as a result of foodborne infections than in the years before. This is most probably due to the measures imposed and advice issued during the coronavirus pandemic. Read more. 

As of 1 January 2022, the Committee for Practical Tuberculosis Control (CPT) will be transferred to RIVM after a period of 70 years with KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation. Just out is the ‘National Tuberculosis Control Plan, 2021-2025 Update’, which aims to further reduce the number of TB patients. The efforts include not only detecting the disease, but also infections that could lead to disease later on. Read more.

RIVM has been designated a WHO Collaborating Centre for Laboratory Preparedness and Response for High Threat Pathogens and Biorisk by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is the first such facility that combines laboratory preparedness and biorisk. The new WHO Collaborating Centre will assist WHO in building national capacity while ensuring biosafety and biosecurity in biomedical laboratories. Read more.

A special edition of the RIVM magazine has just been published on PFAS. The unifying theme of this magazine is the necessity of a European ban on manufacture and use of PFAS. Articles include global trends in PFAS, a timeline for the ban on the use of PFAS, and reducing PFAS step by step. Read the full magazine.

Biocides are used to control organisms that threaten our health or the environment. However biocides themselves can also be harmful. That is why biocides are only authorised if they have been assessed to be safe. Sometimes it is necessary to make an exception. RIVM has devised a system for making well-founded assessments in these situations. Read more.

Changes are needed in the assessment framework used to assess plant protection products and in the underlying test guidelines. Such changes would better demonstrate the potential health effects of these products. This is the advice of RIVM following research carried out on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. Read more.  

For the first time since the start of the National Air Quality Cooperative Programme (NSL) in 2009, the Netherlands complied with the European limit values for nitrogen dioxide along traffic roads. In 2020, the Netherlands almost met the limit values for particulate matter (PM10). Read more.

The awareness and use of cigarillos, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches is relatively low. This is apparent from research by RIVM among Dutch people aged 13 and older. Users indicate that they mainly use the products out of curiosity, because they like it and because of the availability of various flavours. In addition, the participants expect that all products are less harmful and addictive than cigarettes. Read more.

More than half of Dutch students (51%) suffer from mental health issues such as loneliness, pressure to achieve, stress and sleeping problems. Students who use cannabis on a weekly basis or sometimes use non-prescription concentration-enhancing medication are more likely to suffer from such issues. Read more in the first national survey on mental health and substance use among students in higher education. Read more about the monitor on mental health and substance use among students in higher education. Read more about the monitor mental health and substance use among students in higher education.

The levels of salt, saturated fat, and sugar in most processed foods has remained the same or decreased since 2018. This is apparent from the Reformulation monitor that RIVM performs every two years. In comparison with the monitor survey carried out in 2018, the level of salt has decreased in foods for which agreements were made, such as some processed meat products, including canned frankfurters and steak tartare spread. Read more.

RIVM published a new online edition of the Dutch food composition database (NEVO). This edition contains compositional data for over 2200 foods and more than 130 components (protein, carbohydrates, fat and fatty acids, vitamins and minerals). Moreover, the NEVO-online searchable website was completely renewed. Read more.

Aura Timen to Radboudumc

Better monitoring of RSV thanks to new European project

European project COHESIVE develops sustainable One Health approaches

The National Immunisation Programme: the number of disease notifications decreased substantially in 2020

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