Cees C van den Wijngaard

• National Institute for Public Health and the Environment

Fatigue is one of the most common persistent symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We aimed to assess fatigue during and after a SARS-CoV-2 infection by age, sex, presence of a medical risk condition, SARS-CoV-2 variant and vaccination status, accounting for pre-infection fatigue and compared with uninfected individuals. We used data from an ongoing pr...

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is not notifiable in many European countries, and the patchwork of surveillance strategies in Europe perpetuates knowledge gaps. In the Netherlands, LB incidence has been estimated from recurring general practitioner surveys since the 1990s. To complement the incidence data, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of antib...

Objective: It is unclear how self-reported severe fatigue and difficulty concentrating after SARS-CoV-2 infection relate to objective neuropsychological functioning. The study aimed to compare neuropsychological functioning between individuals with and without these persistent subjective complaints. Method: Individuals with and without persistent...

The incidence of Lyme borreliosis has risen, accompanied by persistent symptoms. The innate immune system and related cytokines are crucial in the host response and symptom development. We characterized cytokine production capacity before and after antibiotic treatment in 1,060 Lyme borreliosis patients. We observed a negative correlation between a...

Background Genetic variation underly inter-individual variation in host immune responses to infectious diseases, and may affect susceptibility or the course of signs and symptoms. Methods We performed genome-wide association studies in a prospective cohort of 1138 patients with physician-confirmed Lyme borreliosis (LB), the most common tick-borne...

Background Our aim was to assess the relationship between (time since) wild-type SARS-CoV-2 infection and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and fatigue as endpoints linked to Post COVID-19 condition (PCC). Methods Participants ≥15 years were selected from the February 2021 round of the population-based PIENTER Corona study. We investigated th...

Objectives To describe the course of symptoms reported by patients with symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis (LB) without being subsequently diagnosed with LB. Methods We performed a prospective cohort study with patients presenting at the outpatient clinic of two clinical LB centres. The primary outcome was the prevalence of persistent symptom...

Objectives Different SARS-CoV-2 variants can differentially affect the prevalence of Post Covid-19 Condition (PCC). This prospective study assesses prevalence and severity of symptoms three months after an Omicron infection, compared to Delta, test-negative and population controls. This study also assesses symptomology after reinfection and breakth...

Background Patients treated for Lyme borreliosis (LB) frequently report persistent symptoms. Little is known about risk factors and etiology. Methods In a prospective observational cohort study with a follow-up of one year, we assessed a range of microbiological, immunological, genetic, clinical, functional, epidemiological, psychosocial and cogni...

Introduction: The risk factors for persistent fatigue and cognitive complaints after infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the underlying pathophysiology are largely unknown. Both clinical factors and cognitive-behavioural factors have been suggested to play a role in the perpetuation of complaints. A neurobiological aetiology, such as neuroinflammation,...

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is not notifiable in many European countries, and accurate data on the incidence are often lacking. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.)-specific antibodies in the general population of The Netherlands, and to determine risk factors associated with seropositivity. Sera and...

Background: Different SARS-CoV-2 variants can differentially affect the prevalence of Post Covid-19 Condition (PCC). This prospective study assesses prevalence and severity of symptoms three months after an Omicron infection, compared to Delta, test-negative and population controls. This study also assesses symptomology after reinfection and breakt...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2021.100142.].

Background This prospective study assesses symptoms three months after SARS-CoV-2-infection compared to test-negative and population controls, and the effect of vaccination prior to infection. Methods Participants enrolled after a positive (cases) or negative (test-negative controls) SARS-CoV-2-test, or after invitation from the general population...

Previous studies have shown that monocytes can be ‘trained’ or tolerized by certain stimuli to respond stronger or weaker to a secondary stimulation. Rewiring of glucose metabolism was found to be important in inducing this phenotype. As we previously found that Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi), the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB), al...

Introduction A substantial proportion of individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), report persisting symptoms weeks and months following acute infection. Estimates on prevalence vary due to differences in study designs, populations, heterogeneity of symptoms and the way symptoms are measured. Common sym...

Background More information is needed on prevalence of long-term symptoms after SARS-CoV-2-infection. This prospective study assesses symptoms three months after SARS-CoV-2-infection compared to test-negative and population controls, and the effect of vaccination prior to infection. Methods Participants enrolled after a positive (cases) or negativ...

Background Cellular tests for Lyme borreliosis might be able to overcome major shortcomings of serological testing, such as its low sensitivity in early stages of infection. Therefore, we aimed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of three cellular tests. Methods This was a nationwide, prospective, multiple-gate case-control study done in the...

Background The impact of infections with tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) other than Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) on public health in Europe remains unclear. Our goal is to evaluate whether the presence of these TBPs in ticks can be associated with self-reported health complaints. Methods We enrolled individuals...

Background Laboratory diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis (LB) is mainly based on serology, which has limitations, particularly in the early stages of the disease. In recent years there have been conflicting reports concerning a new diagnostic tool using the cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). Previous studies have generally found low concentrations of IF...

Background: A substantial proportion of individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) report persisting symptoms weeks and months following acute infection. Estimates on prevalence vary due to differences in study designs, populations, heterogeneity of symptoms and the way symptoms are measured. Common sympt...

Previous studies have shown that monocytes can be 'trained' or tolerized by certain stimuli to respond stronger or weaker to a secondary stimulation. Rewiring of glucose metabolism was found to be important in inducing this phenotype. As we previously found that Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi), the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis (LB), al...

Objectives We aimed to identify populations at a high risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection but who are less likely to present for testing, by determining which sociodemographic and household factors are associated with a lower propensity to be tested and, if tested, with a higher risk of a positive test result. Design and setting Internet-based participa...

Background Voluntary testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection is an integral component of an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential to identify populations at a high risk for infection but who are less likely to present for testing. Here, we use internet-based participatory surveillance data from the Netherlands to identify sociodemog...

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) has only recently been detected in the Netherlands. With still few autochthonous tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) patients, human exposure to TBEV is expected to be very low among the general population. We aimed to assess the exposure to TBEV among persons with an occupationally high risk of tick bites in the Neth...

Background Tick-borne pathogens other than Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato – the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis – are common in Ixodes ricinus ticks. How often these pathogens cause human disease is unknown. In addition, diagnostic tools to identify such diseases are lacking or reserved to research laboratories. To elucidate their prevalence a...

Background Concerns about long-lasting symptoms attributed to Lyme borreliosis (LB) are widespread in the Western world, while such symptoms are highly prevalent in the general population. Methods In the largest prospective study to date, adults with physician-confirmed LB were included at the start of antibiotic treatment. Primary outcomes, preva...

Objectives A single dose of doxycycline after a tick bite can prevent the development of Lyme borreliosis in North America, but extrapolation to Europe is hampered by differences in Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies and tick species. We assessed the efficacy of prophylaxis after a tick bite in Europe. Methods We conducted an open-label r...

Background: Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a tick-borne disease caused by spirochetes belonging to the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species. Due to a variety of clinical manifestations, diagnosing LB can be challenging, and laboratory work-up is usually required in case of disseminated LB. However, the current standard of diagnostics is serology, whi...

Background After antibiotic treatment of Lyme borreliosis, a subset of patients report persistent symptoms, also referred to as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. The reported prevalence of persistent symptoms varies considerably, and its pathophysiology is under debate. The LymeProspect study has been designed to investigate the prevalence, sev...

Insights into transmission dynamics of enteropathogens in children attending daycare are limited. Here we aimed at identifying daycare centre (DCC) characteristics associated with time-clustered occurrence of enteropathogens in DCC-attending children. For this purpose, we used the KIzSS network, which comprises 43 DCCs that participated in infectio...

Background Nationwide surveys have shown a threefold increase in general practitioner (GP) consultations for tick bites and early Lyme borreliosis from 1994 to 2009 in the Netherlands. We now report an update on 2014, with identical methods as for the preceding GP surveys. Methods To all GPs in the Netherlands, a postal questionnaire was sent inqu...

After the publication of this work [1], we noticed an error in the percentages of “Fig. 1 Lyme borreliosis manifestations as a proportion of all Lyme-related diagnoses, by type of physician”. The percentages of the first horizontal bar “General Practitioner (adjusted)” should be: 90.9 % erythema migrans (instead of 92 %), 5.3 % disseminated Lyme bo...

Tekenradar.nl is een webplatform voor onderzoek naar teken en tekenoverdraagbare aandoeningen zoals de ziekte van Lyme. Het RIVM en Wageningen University hebben de website in 2012 gezamenlijk opgericht. Tekenradar.nl geeft informatie over tekenbeten en de ziekte van Lyme en een actuele voorspelling van de tekenactiviteit. Mensen kunnen hun tekenbee...

Because there may be substantial hidden mortality caused by common seasonal pathogens, we estimated the number of deaths in elderly persons attributable to viruses and bacteria for which robust weekly laboratory surveillance data were available. On weekly time series (1999-2007) we used regression models to associate total death counts in individua...

We assessed the severity of the 2009 influenza pandemic by comparing pandemic mortality to seasonal influenza mortality. However, reported pandemic deaths were laboratory-confirmed - and thus an underestimation - whereas seasonal influenza mortality is often more inclusively estimated. For a valid comparison, our study used the same statistical met...

Cited By (since 1996): 1, Export Date: 25 April 2012, Source: Scopus, Art. No.: e31197

Export Date: 25 April 2012, Source: Scopus

New variant strains of norovirus have emerged worldwide in recent years, evolving by mutation much like influenza viruses. These strains have been associated with a notable increase in the number of annual norovirus outbreaks. However, the impact of such increased norovirus activity on morbidity and mortality is not clear because norovirus infectio...

Cited By (since 1996): 3, Export Date: 25 April 2012, Source: Scopus

Large Q-fever outbreaks were reported in The Netherlands from May 2007 to 2009, with dairy-goat farms as the putative source. Since Q-fever outbreaks at such farms were first reported in 2005, we explored whether there was evidence of human outbreaks before May 2007. Space-time scan statistics were used to look for clusters of lower-respiratory inf...

Introduction Recent surveys show a steady increase in infectious syphilis incidence among sexual transmitted infection clinic visitors in many industrialized countries. Untreated, 30% of patients develop symptomatic neurosyphilis, possibly presenting with a variety of behavioral en neurological symptoms. Neurosyphilis is diagnosed on specific abnor...

The disease burden of the 2009 influenza pandemic has been debated but reliable estimates are lacking. To guide future policy and control, these estimates are necessary. This study uses burden of disease measurements to assess the contribution of the pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus to the overall burden of disease in the Netherlands. The burden of...

We explored whether excesses in influenza severity can be detected by combining respiratory syndromic hospital and mortality data with data on influenza-like illness (ILI) cases obtained from general practitioners. To identify excesses in the severity of influenza infections in the population of the Netherlands between 1999 and 2005, we looked for...

Background: Although syndromic surveillance is increasingly used to detect unusual illness, there is a debate whether it is useful for detecting local outbreaks. We evaluated whether syndromic surveillance detects local outbreaks of lower-respiratory infections (LRIs) without swamping true signals by false alarms. Methods and findings: Using ret...

We analysed and reported on a weekly basis clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients hospitalised in the Netherlands for the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) using information from the national mandatory notification system. The notification criteria changed on 15 August 2009 from all possible, probable and confirmed cases to only lab...

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important human pathogens and methicillin-resistant variants (MRSAs) are a major cause of hospital and community-acquired infection. We aimed to map the geographic distribution of the dominant clones that cause invasive infections in Europe. In each country, staphylococcal reference laboratories secured the...

Experience with a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in the Netherlands (2003) illustrated that the diagnostic demand for respiratory viruses at different biosafety levels (including BSL3), can increase unexpectedly and dramatically. We describe the measures taken since, aimed at strengthening national laboratory surge capacity and improvin...

To evaluate to what extent antiviral drugs have been prescribed to patients other than confirmed cases and their contacts since the emergence of New Influenza A (H1N1). Descriptive. We inspected monthly and annual counts of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) prescriptions dispensed by public pharmacies in the Netherlands from 2005 until...

Syndromic surveillance is increasingly used to signal unusual illness events. To validate data-source selection, we retrospectively investigated the extent to which 6 respiratory syndromes (based on different medical registries) reflected respiratory pathogen activity. These syndromes showed higher levels in winter, which corresponded with higher l...

West Nile virus (WNV) is an arthropod-borne flavivirus that is endemic in Africa, Europe, and Eastern Asia. The recent introduction and rapid dissemination of the virus in the United States as well as an increase in WNV outbreaks in Europe, has raised concerns for its spread in Europe. A surveillance system was developed to allow timely detection o...

Syndromic surveillance has been developed in order to detect outbreaks of unusual infectious diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or anthrax at an early stage. Whereas the usual surveillance systems are based on established diagnoses and emergency department discharge data, syndromic surveillance uses preliminary outcomes and d...

OBJECTIVE: To explore - using syndromic data - whether there is evidence for local Q fever outbreaks before detection of the known 2007 outbreak in the Netherlands and whether syndromic surveillance could have accelerated their detection. BACKGROUND: For many years, Q-fever has been very rare in the Netherlands with around 15 notified cases per yea...