Malaria has been eliminated from Algeria and Argentina, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday. The certification is granted when a country proves that it has interrupted indigenous transmission of the disease for at least 3 consecutive years.
Contracted through the bite of an infected mosquito, malaria remains one of the world’s leading killers, with an estimated 219 million cases and over 400 000 malaria-related deaths in 2017. Approximately 60% of fatalities are among children aged under 5 years.
Algeria is the second country in the WHO African Region to be officially recognized as malaria-free, after Mauritius, which was certified in 1973. Argentina is the second country in the WHO Region of the Americas to be certified in 45 years, after Paraguay in June 2018.
Algeria and Argentina reported their last cases of indigenous malaria in 2013 and 2010 respectively.
Information Source WHO
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