A devastating tropical disease has now been eliminated from its first country, it has been announced.
The country is Colombia and the disease is river blindness, also known as onchocerciasis.
The World Health Organisation verified the elimination of the disease from the South American country on Tuesday.
The disease had lingered in the town of Naicioná and residents had received twice-annual doses of drugs for 12 years to stop infection with the disease.
Campaigners welcomed the Colombian government’s decision to press on to tackle other tropical diseases such as trachoma.
A spokeswoman for the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases said: "Colombia has proven that elimination of neglected tropical diseases is possible, and that this can be done in the context of working to achieve other important development goals.
"Colombia’s success should serve as a source of inspiration for other nations striving to control or eliminate diseases of poverty plaguing their most vulnerable populations."
The organisation added: "This milestone serves as a model of success for other Latin American and African nations working to eliminate onchocerciasis, a parasitic disease that can cause severe visual impairment and permanent blindness."
WHO director general Dr Margaret Chan said the country would have to "maintain vigilance" for the disease spreading back into Colombia from other South American countries.
Dr Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, called for “redoubling efforts to eliminate the disease” in five other countries: Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela.
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