Egypt declared malaria-free after 100-year effort to eradicate deadly disease

In total, 44 countries and one territory have been declared malaria-free - (Getty Images)

Egypt has been certified as a malaria-free country by the World Health Organization (WHO) after 100 years of efforts to eradicate the disease.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said: “Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that plagued pharaohs now belongs to its history and not its future.”