Egypt has been licensed malaria-free by the World Well being Group (WHO), an achievement hailed by the United Nations public well being company as a “actually historic” achievement.
“Malaria is as previous as Egyptian civilization itself, however the illness that plagued the Pharaohs now belongs to Egypt’s historical past,” mentioned WHO Director-Normal Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Egyptian authorities are taking motion for the primary time in practically a century to eradicate the lethal mosquito-borne infectious illness.
Certification is granted when a rustic demonstrates that the transmission chain has been interrupted for at the very least the previous three consecutive years. Malaria kills at the very least 600,000 individuals yearly, virtually all of them in Africa.
In a press release on Sunday, the World Well being Group praised “the federal government and other people of Egypt” for his or her efforts to “finish a illness that has existed within the nation since historical occasions.”
Egypt is the third nation to obtain certification within the World Well being Group’s Japanese Mediterranean area, after the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, the assertion mentioned.
Globally, 44 international locations and 1 area have reached this milestone.
However the World Well being Group mentioned the certification was simply “the start of a brand new part” and urged Egypt to stay vigilant with a view to keep its malaria-free standing.
To obtain certification from the World Well being Group, a rustic should reveal the flexibility to forestall the re-establishment of transmission.
Egypt’s first efforts to restrict human contact with mosquitoes started within the Twenties, when rising rice and crops close to houses was banned, the U.N. public well being company mentioned.
Malaria is attributable to a posh parasite and is transmitted by way of mosquito bites.
A vaccine is now being utilized in some locations – however monitoring the illness and avoiding mosquito bites are the best methods to forestall malaria.
