疫情近二十年后荷兰内阁向Q热患者正式道歉：政府多年支持缺位
2026年10月9日（星期五），荷兰卫生大臣索菲·赫尔曼斯（Sophie Hermans）在北布拉班特省省政府大楼所在地斯海尔托亨博斯举行的一场Q热研讨会上，代表内阁向Q热患者正式道歉。她表示，政府多年来对患者的支持严重不足，让患者不得不一次又一次重复讲述自己的遭遇。她说，她为此道歉，并且是发自内心的。
赫尔曼斯同时说明，这次道歉针对的是疫情之后支持与保障的长期缺位：许多患者在医疗机构和UWV等部门之间被推来推去，诉求长期得不到承认。在场的患者对道歉表示宽慰，同时表示后续仍有大量工作要做。
Q热疫情于2007年至2010年间在荷兰暴发，致病细菌主要通过受感染的山羊和绵羊传播，北布拉班特省和林堡省受影响最重。数万人被感染，100多人死亡。据估计，目前仍有至少1,500人留有严重疲劳、疼痛和体力耗竭等长期症状，其中一部分被归为Q热疲劳综合征。赫尔曼斯现任卫生、福利与体育大臣。
国家监察专员曾在2012年、2017年和2024年多次发表批评报告，并呼吁内阁道歉；历任大臣此前一直没有作出道歉。今年1月，众议院有议员提出动议，要求政府正式向Q热受害者道歉。更早之前，300多名患者于2016年起诉国家，法院2017年裁定政府行为不构成违法；2018年，部分患者获得15,000欧元的一次性补偿。
内阁将拨款250万欧元用于改善对患者的照护与支持，其中包括为首批100名患者启动个人陪伴帮扶计划。北布拉班特省则希望在省内设立Q热专业中心，首选乌登的Bernhoven医院；负责卫生事务的省执政官萨斯基娅·布勒马（Saskia Boelema）表示，仍有太多患者在不同机构之间落入缝隙、无人接手。
Q热并未从荷兰消失：2024年4月，布拉克尔一家奶绵羊农场在动物身上检出Q热，是2016年以来的首次。
来源：NOS、NU.nl 2026年10月9日报道；ANP通讯社消息（经Skipr等媒体发布）；海尔德兰广播公司2026年10月9日报道。
Nearly 20 Years On, Dutch Cabinet Apologises to Q Fever Patients for Years of Missing Support
Dutch Health Minister Sophie Hermans apologised to Q fever patients on behalf of the cabinet on Friday, 9 October 2026, at a Q fever symposium held at the provincial government house in 's-Hertogenbosch. She said the government had given patients far too little support for years and had forced them to tell their story again and again, adding that she apologised for this from the bottom of her heart.
Hermans made clear the apology concerned the long absence of support and a safety net after the epidemic: many patients had been sent from pillar to post between care providers and agencies such as the UWV, and their condition had not been recognised. Patients present reacted with relief, while saying much remained to be done.
The Q fever epidemic ran from 2007 to 2010. The bacterium spread mainly through infected goats and sheep, with Noord-Brabant and Limburg hit hardest. Tens of thousands of people were infected and more than a hundred died. An estimated at least 1,500 people still live with long-term symptoms such as severe fatigue, pain and exhaustion, some of them classified as Q fever fatigue syndrome. Hermans is minister of Health, Welfare and Sport.
The National Ombudsman issued critical reports in 2012, 2017 and 2024 and called on the cabinet to apologise; successive ministers had declined to do so. In January this year a motion was tabled in the House of Representatives asking the government to offer official apologies to Q fever victims. Earlier, more than 300 patients sued the State in 2016; a court ruled in 2017 that the government had not acted unlawfully, and in 2018 some patients received a one-off payment of 15,000 euros.
The cabinet will make 2.5 million euros available to improve care and support for patients, including a personal guidance programme starting with the first 100 patients. The province of Noord-Brabant wants a Q fever expertise centre in the province, preferably at Bernhoven hospital in Uden; provincial health executive Saskia Boelema said too many patients still fall between the cracks of the institutions involved.
Q fever has not disappeared from the Netherlands: in April 2024 it was detected in animals at a dairy sheep farm in Brakel, the first such finding since 2016.
Sources: NOS and NU.nl, 9 October 2026; ANP wire reports carried by Skipr and others; Omroep Gelderland, 9 October 2026.
图片来源：图片来源：Rahul Shaw / Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0）
