Resumen de De geschiedenis van de (veterinaire) volksgezondheid: de rol van dierenartsen bij het RIVM
In the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, RIVM), veterinarians have always played a role in the field of public health. In 1921 the implementation of the law on meat hygiene was assigned to the Institute and in 1922 a separate veterinary division was created. In 1948 the name of this division was changed to Laboratory for Zoonoses and Pathology. Research comprised subjects such as salmonellosis and the bacteriology of eggs, egg products, and canned meat products. In 1960 the name was changed to the Laboratory for Zoonoses. The number of subjects expanded: salmonellosis, listeriosis, E. coli, resistance to antibiotics, food of animal origin, water and the environment, anisakiasis, trichinellosis, and studies on the (forbidden) administration of estrogens to calves. Veterinary Public Health continued to require the attention and input of RIVM veterinarians on problems such as avian influenza (H7N7) in 2003. In the compilation of the 2004 report on Emerging Zoonoses by The Health Council of The Netherlands, the expertise of the RIVM veterinarians played an important role. The recommendations led to the Emzoo (Emerging zoonoses) program, a system for early warning and surveillance. Recent problems such as the relation of antibiotics in animal husbandry to resistant bacteria in humans, as well as –since the outbreak of Q-fever– the health risks for living in the vicinity of farms, justify the conclusion that Veterinarians, the RIVM, and Veterinary Public Health are and will be a fruitful combination.
