Malaria transmission has been eliminated from Europe, it was announced yesterday.
In 1995 more than 90,000 people contract malaria within the European region of the World Health Organisation.
Last year it was zero, WHO said.
WHO officials said they believed the continent could maintain freedom from malaria.
The European region of WHO includes Turkey and central Asian countries such as Turkmenistan and Tajikistan as well as the Russian Federation.
WHO regional director Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab said: "This is a major milestone in Europe’s public health history and in the efforts to eliminate malaria globally. I applaud this achievement as the result of strong political commitment from European leaders with WHO support.
"This is not only the time to celebrate our success but is also the opportunity to firmly maintain the malaria-free status we have laboriously attained.
"Until malaria is eradicated globally, people travelling to and from malaria-endemic countries can import the disease to Europe, and we have to keep up the good work to prevent its reintroduction."
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