RIVM Newsletter Issue 1, 7 April 2022 |
| Figures on the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 | In the week of 29 March to 5 April, the number of new hospital admissions of patients with SARS-CoV-2 decreased by 32% compared to the week before, and the number of new patients with SARS-CoV-2 in the ICU decreased by 35%. The number of newly reported positive COVID-19 tests was also lower (-42%) last week compared to the week before that. The reproduction number is below 1. Read more. | COVID-19 vaccination figures | Up to and including Sunday 3 April, more than 1 million repeat vaccinations had been administered in the Netherlands. People aged 60 years and older, people living in nursing homes, and people with severely impaired immunity are eligible to get a repeat vaccination against COVID-19. They can get the repeat vaccination 3 months after their last COVID-19 vaccination or 3 months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read more. | Public opinion on long-term approach to COVID-19 | In the long-term approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dutch government is assigning a key role to civil society and private citizens. When asked what their priorities are in that context, the answer was to prevent delays in surgical interventions. A secondary priority was social, mental and economic health. There is broad public support in the Netherlands for maintaining basic hygiene recommendations and continuing to test in the event of symptoms. These findings are from research conducted by RIVM, in partnership with Populytics. Read more. | International research confirms negative impact of lockdowns on young people | Lockdowns have a negative impact on the physical and mental health of many young people. They get less exercise and experience more feelings of depression, loneliness and insecurity. Vulnerable young people are particularly affected by this impact. However, symptoms do seem to diminish quickly in most young people after measures are relaxed. These findings are from a literature review conducted by RIVM and the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (Nivel). Read more. | Limited impact on childhood immunisation | The epidemic of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the Netherlands has had a limited impact on participation in the National Immunisation Programme. Participation in the vaccinations against mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) and diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus and polio (DTaP-IPV) has decreased slightly among infants (-1%). This is RIVM's conclusion based on provisional figures. Turnout for the first HPV vaccination was higher (+6%) than last year and has risen to 70%. Read more. | Healthcare and healthy lifestyle | Hardly any decrease in overweight, smoking and alcohol use since 2018 | In 2021 half of all adults were overweight. 21% sometimes smoked, 7% were excessive drinkers and 8% heavy drinkers. The numbers of smokers and overweight or obese people were higher among groups with lower welfare or lower levels of education. This information is from the Health Survey / Lifestyle Monitor 2021, performed by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in collaboration with RIVM, the Trimbos Institute and Pharos. Read more. | Sex differences in cognitive functioning with aging in the Netherlands | Middle-aged women have a better memory than men. They also process information faster than men. In the years that follow, however, both cognitive functions decline faster in women. This has been shown by research conducted by RIVM and VU Amsterdam. The results of the study have been published in the international medical journal Gerontology. Read more. | Shortcomings in technical documentation of mesh implants for pelvic organ prolapse | After a detailed assessment of the technical documentation of nine different mesh implants intended to treat pelvic organ prolapse that were used in the Netherlands in 2018, RIVM concludes that the safety and performance of these products were not properly substantiated. Shortcomings were found in the technical documentation of all nine mesh implants. Read more. | Cervical cancer screening on the island of Saba | In February 2022, a pilot for population screening for cervical cancer started on the island of Saba. All women between the ages of 30 and 60 years will be invited to participate in the coming three years. This pilot is an essential step towards a complete offering of the three population screening programmes for breast cancer, cervical cancer and colon cancer on the three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands. RIVM has been asked to gradually increase options for participation in the screenings to the level offered in the European Netherlands. Read more. | Safe, clean and healthy environment | Risk assessment associated with short-term occupational exposure to asbestos | On average it takes roughly 40 years for amphibole asbestos to lead to mesothelioma after inhalation. An individual’s age at the time of exposure therefore affects the probability of their developing cancer (at a later stage). Incidental employees may inhale too much of this type of asbestos over a short period of time. In such cases, age must also be taken into account in the risk assessment. For other forms of asbestos, the existing method is sufficient for determining the risk of cancer for short-term exposure to excessively high concentrations of asbestos. Read more. | Call to action for scientific community: increase involvement in solving plastic crisis | Industry and policymakers are not availing themselves enough of the available scientific knowledge when it comes to smarter ways of dealing with plastics. If they were to involve scientists more, scientific knowledge could make a more substantial contribution towards encouraging safe, sustainable use of plastics. RIVM is calling on scientists, businesses and policymakers to be more active when it comes to sharing knowledge and developing smart solutions. Read more. | New method for measuring plastics in plants | Nature Nanotechnology published an article on ‘Quantitative tracing of uptake and transport of submicrometre plastics in crop plants using lanthanide chelates as a dual-functional tracer’. This study describes a new method for measuring plastics in plants, developed by RIVM researcher Willie Peijnenburg in collaboration with Chinese researchers. This is the first time it has become possible to quantify plastic concentrations in plants. Read more. | RIVM study confirms: Tata Steel site is main source of PAHs and metals in the IJmond region | A new study conducted by RIVM shows that the PAHs and metals present in the living environment of residents of the IJmond region predominantly originate from the Tata Steel site. Residents in the IJmond region wanted to know the origin of the substances deposited in their living environment. This RIVM study (the third and final study on this topic) combined the results of previous measurements with findings from scientific literature, data from the Netherlands Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, and research into the composition of the dust. Read more. | Preventing and controlling infectious diseases | Seasonal flu epidemic in the Netherlands | The flu epidemic in the Netherlands started in March 2022. The number of people with flu (influenza) increased significantly. More and more nose and throat samples taken from people with flu-like symptoms reveal the presence of an influenza virus. The flu epidemic usually starts in December or January. Since the start of the ‘normal’ flu season in 2021, however, the flu virus has only been found very occasionally in the Netherlands. Read more. | RIVM expands HPV vaccination programme: girls and boys protected from six types of cancer with one vaccine | Now not only girls, but also boys will have the opportunity to protect themselves from cancer caused by HPV. The vaccination programme is being expanded in response to our growing understanding of the forms of cancer that can be caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). As the vaccine works best before you come into contact with the virus, the age for vaccination is being lowered from 13 to 10. Read more. | Slight increase in TB patients in the Netherlands between 2020 and 2021 | 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). In 296 of the patients TB was found outside of the lungs. There were 384 patients with TB in their lungs. Of these, 141 had open tuberculosis, which is the most contagious form. This is evident from key figures published by RIVM. Read more. | WHO compliments RIVM on National Immunisation website | RIVM is a member of Vaccine Safety Net, a global network of websites established by the World Health Organization (WHO), which provides reliable information on vaccine safety. WHO evaluates member websites every two years. RIVM’s website on the National Immunisation Programme in the Netherlands was complimented by Dr Smaragda Lamprianou of Vaccine Safety Net: “Congratulations on a well-designed, user-friendly, very informative website. The sizeable vaccine safety related information is science-based, up-to-date and in lay language, facilitating general public’s understanding for these topics. Particularly appreciated was the part dedicated to side effects.” | The flu vaccine for the current flu season seems to be working better than expected. This is evident from preliminary figures from the European collaboration I-MOVE: Integrated Monitoring of Vaccine Effects in Europe). Researchers from RIVM and Nivel are participating in I-MOVE. Due to a perceived mismatch of circulating flu viruses with the viruses in the flu vaccine, researchers previously took a more limited effectiveness into account. Read more (in Dutch). | RIVM coordinates COHESIVE, a four-year project of the One Health European Joint Programme, which has developed a website with guidelines for setting up a One Health Risk Analysis System (OHRAS) for signalling, assessing and controlling zoonoses in European countries. The practical guide is a result of co-creation by many partners in the COHESIVE project. | RIVM participates in the Population Health Information Research Infrastructure (PHIRI) which aims to facilitate and generate the best available evidence for research on health and well-being of populations as impacted by COVID-19. PHIRI has published a new section on the European health Information portal: the Rapid Exchange Forum. More about PHIRI. | Sign up for our international newsletter and receive our news and updates straight to your mailbox. Please forward our newsletter to anyone who may be interested. Subscribe here | |