COPENHAGEN (AFP) --- Denmark has become the first European Union country to eliminate the mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday.

“The elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis marks a major public health achievement for Denmark,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

The international health body said Denmark had met its required targets for elimination from 2021 to 2024, “including low transmission rates and high coverage of prenatal testing and treatment for pregnant women.”

“Elimination means testing and treating at least 95 out of every 100 pregnant women --- and keeping new infant infections below 50 per 100,000 births,” Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said.

According to WHO figures, Denmark has low rates of HIV and syphilis among pregnant women.