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 The World Health Organization declared Armenia malaria-free zone, reported Armenian Ministry of Healthcare.

The WHO also said global malaria infection rates have dropped by 20 percent over the last decade, adding that there were 225 million cases of malaria and an estimated 781,000 deaths in 2009.

The WHO announced on Monday that malaria had been eliminated in the Caucasus nation.

"I have great pleasure in announcing that Armenia has been certified by WHO as malaria-free," said Dr. Margaret Chan, the head of the WHO, in a speech in Seattle. "This happens only when a country has excellent surveillance and response capacity, able to detect every imported case and ensure that it does not ignite a re-establishment of transmission."

According to the WHO, malaria was prevalent in Armenia until the 1950s, and was thought or have been eradicated in 1963. The disease resurfaced in the 1990s, but now has been since eliminated due to control intervention, long-lasting insecticidal nets, insecticides, and better diagnostic techniques.