The World Health Organization has declared China malaria-free. China got this award on 30 June. China had to strive for 70 years to eliminate the mosquito-borne disease.
The country recorded 30 million cases of infectious disease annually in the 1940s, but now for four years in a row, not a single domestic case has been reported.
The World Health Organization has congratulated the people of China on getting rid of malaria. According to China, this success was achieved through hard work and after four decades of targeted and sustained action. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “With this announcement, China joins a growing number of countries that have shown that the future of the world is malaria-free.”
The World Health Organization said that China began the distribution of medicines for the prevention of disease in risk-prone areas decades ago. Mosquito-breeding areas have been systematically reduced, and insect repellent and protective nets have been made available on a large scale.
China has become the 40th region to be certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization. In the 80s, China was the first country in the world to use a drug-coated mosquito net to prevent malaria.
China applied for World Health Organization certification in 2020 after four consecutive years of zero indigenous cases. Experts visited the country in May this year to prepare for future outbreaks and verify malaria-free evidence. Malaria is transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. If not treated in time, it has the potential to become fatal. Its symptoms include high fever, headache, chills, etc.