Country Achieves River Blindness Milestone Thanks To Merck

Colombia has become the first country to eliminate the tropical disease onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness - a leading cause of preventable sight-loss in the developing world. The announcement was made by Columbia's Ministry of Health based on studies showing onchocerciasis infection levels are sufficiently low to break the parasitic agent Onchocerca volvulus' cycle of transmission. Meanwhile, public health officials have announced that onchocerciasis transmission has also been halted in certain endemic areas in Ecuador and

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