Rotbart HA , Levin MJ , Jones JF , Hayward AR , Allan J , McLane MF , 1986. Noma in children with severe combined immunodeficiency. J Pediatr 109: 596–600.
Feller L , Lemmer J , Khammissa RAG , 2022. Is noma a neglected/overlooked tropical disease? Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 116: 884–888.
Ogbureke KU , 2022. Noma: a neglected area for research. J Dent Res 101: 1424–1429.
Bourgeois DM , Leclercq MH , 1999. The World Health Organization initiative on noma. Oral Dis 5: 172–174.
Denloye O , Aderinokun G , Lawoyin J , Bankole O , 2003. Reviewing trends in the incidence of cancrum oris in Ibadan, Nigeria. West Afr J Med 22: 26–29.
Farley E et al., 2020. The prevalence of noma in northwest Nigeria. BMJ Glob Health 5: e002279.
Srour ML , Farley E , Mpinga EK , 2022. Lao noma survivors: a case series, 2002–2020. Am J Trop Med Hyg 106: 1269–1274.
World Health Organization , 2016. Promoting Oral Health in Africa: Prevention and Control of Oral Diseases and Noma as Part of Essential Noncommunicable Disease Interventions. Available at: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/205886/9789290232971.pdf. Accessed July 14, 2023.
Behanan A , Auluck A , Pai K , 2004. Cancrum oris. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg 42: 267–269.
Weledji EL , Njong S , 2016. Cancrum oris (noma): the role of nutrition in management. J Am Coll Clin Wound Spec 7: 50–52.
Baratti-Mayer D , Pittet B , Montandon D , Bolivar I , Bornand J-E , Hugonnet S , Jaquinet A , Schrenzel J , Pittet D ; Geneva Study Group on Noma , 2003. Noma: an “infectious” disease of unknown etiology. Lancet Infect Dis 3: 419–431.
Enwonwu CO , 1995. Noma: a neglected scourge of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Bull World Health Organ 73: 541–545.
Konsem T , Millogo M , Assouan C , Ouedraogo D , 2014. Evoluting form of cancrum oris, about 55 cases collected at the Academic Hospital Yalgado Ouedraogo of Ouagadougou. Bull Soc Pathol Exot 107: 74–78.
Reynaud J , 1950. Noma and penicillin therapy in Afghanistan. Revue Odontostomatologique 6: 125–138.
Singh A , Mandal A , Seth R , Kabra SK , 2016. Noma in a child with acute leukemia: when the ‘face of poverty’ finds an ally. BMJ Case Rep 2016: bcr2015211674.
Xu L , Wei W , Ge X , Wan S , Yu J , Zhu X , 2019. Noma in a boy with septic shock: a case report. BMC Pediatr 19: 200.
Fieger A , Marck KW , Busch R , Schmidt A , 2003. An estimation of the incidence of noma in northwest Nigeria. Trop Med Int Health 8: 402–407.
Ver-Or N , Iregbu CK , Taiwo OO , Afeleokhai IT , Aza CG , Adaji JZ , Margima C , 2022. Retrospective characterization of noma cases found incidentally across Nigeria during outreach programs for cleft lip from 2011–2020. Am J Trop Med Hyg 107: 1132–1136.
Enwonwu C , Falkler W , Phillips R , 2006. Noma (cancrum oris). Lancet 368: 147–156.
Galli A , Brugger C , Fürst T , Monnier N , Winkler MS , Steinmann P , 2022. Prevalence, incidence, and reported global distribution of noma: a systematic literature review. Lancet Infect Dis 22: e221–e230.
Oji C , 2002. Cancrum oris: its incidence and treatment in Enugu, Nigeria. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg 40: 406–409.
Gebretsadik HG, 2023. The severity of psychosocial and functional morbidity among facially disfigured untreated noma cases in Ethiopia. BMC Res Notes 16: 162.
United Nations Development Programme, 2023. Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023. Unstacking Global Poverty: Data for High Impact Action. Briefing Note for Countries on the 2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index. Ethiopia. Available at: https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/MPI/ETH.pdf. Accessed June 14, 2023.
WHO, Oral Health Unit, 1998. Noma Today, A Public Health Problem?: Report of an Expert Consultation Organized by the Oral Health Unit of the World Health Organization using the Delphi Method. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
Gebretsadik HG , 2023. An update on the epidemiology of noma (facial gangrene) in Ethiopia. Fortune J Health Sci 6: 109–114.
Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia , 2013. Population Projections for Ethiopia 2007–2037. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: CSAE. Available at: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL30967452M/Population_projections_for_Ethiopia_2007-2037. Accessed June 17, 2023.
Fieger A , Marck KW , Busch R , Schmidt A , 2003. An estimation of the incidence of noma in northwest Nigeria. Trop Med Int Health 8: 402–407.
Srour ML , Marck K , Baratti-Mayer D , 2017. Noma: overview of a neglected disease and human rights violation. Am J Trop Med Hyg 96: 268–274.
Shaye DA , Rabbels J , Adetunji AS , Magee A , Vo D , Winters R , 2018. Evaluation of the noma disease burden within the noma belt. JAMA Facial Plast Surg 20: 332–333.
Oginni FO , Oginni AO , Ugboko VI , Otuyemi OD , 1999. A survey of cases of cancrum oris seen in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Int J Paediatr Dent 9: 75–80.
Bello SA , Adeoye JA , Oketade I , Akadiri OA , 2019. Estimated incidence and prevalence of noma in north-central Nigeria, 2010–2018: a retrospective study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 13: e0007574.
Past two years | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 977 | 501 | 84 |
Full Text Views | 70 | 33 | 4 |
PDF Downloads | 87 | 40 | 4 |
Noma is a rapidly advancing and frequently deadly infection affecting the oral and facial regions. The condition causes severe destruction of the soft and osseous tissues of the face. Noma primarily affects impoverished children with weakened immune systems, yet epidemiological data on the disease are lacking. This cross-sectional study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by estimating the prevalence of noma in Ethiopia. A retrospective review of patients’ medical records was conducted using data from the Facing Africa database, spanning from 2007 to 2019. The prevalence of noma was calculated for the general population and for children under 10 years old at national and regional levels. The estimation process involved analyzing raw data and referring to an expert consultation report organized by the Oral Health Division of the WHO, which used the Delphi method. Based on the analysis of 235 medical records, the study revealed an estimated prevalence of 16 cases per 100,000 population and 0.47 case per 1,000 children under 10 years old nationally, with approximately 1,446 and 1,237 new cases diagnosed annually, respectively. The Gambela region had the highest prevalence of noma, with 276.2 cases per 100,000 population, whereas the Benshangul Gumuz region had the lowest rate at 6.2 cases per 100,000 population. Similarly, the Gambela and Benshangul Gumuz regions exhibited the highest and lowest prevalences per 1,000 children under 10 years old, estimated at 8.12 and 0.18 cases per 1,000, respectively. The findings underscore the public health impact of noma in Ethiopia and the need for effective prevention and treatment strategies.
Author’s address: Heron Gezahegn Gebretsadik, Dabi Complex, Bole Road 1000, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, E-mails: gebretsadik@euclidfaculty.net or gezahegn.heron@gmail.com.
Rotbart HA , Levin MJ , Jones JF , Hayward AR , Allan J , McLane MF , 1986. Noma in children with severe combined immunodeficiency. J Pediatr 109: 596–600.
Feller L , Lemmer J , Khammissa RAG , 2022. Is noma a neglected/overlooked tropical disease? Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 116: 884–888.
Ogbureke KU , 2022. Noma: a neglected area for research. J Dent Res 101: 1424–1429.
Bourgeois DM , Leclercq MH , 1999. The World Health Organization initiative on noma. Oral Dis 5: 172–174.
Denloye O , Aderinokun G , Lawoyin J , Bankole O , 2003. Reviewing trends in the incidence of cancrum oris in Ibadan, Nigeria. West Afr J Med 22: 26–29.
Farley E et al., 2020. The prevalence of noma in northwest Nigeria. BMJ Glob Health 5: e002279.
Srour ML , Farley E , Mpinga EK , 2022. Lao noma survivors: a case series, 2002–2020. Am J Trop Med Hyg 106: 1269–1274.
World Health Organization , 2016. Promoting Oral Health in Africa: Prevention and Control of Oral Diseases and Noma as Part of Essential Noncommunicable Disease Interventions. Available at: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/205886/9789290232971.pdf. Accessed July 14, 2023.
Behanan A , Auluck A , Pai K , 2004. Cancrum oris. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg 42: 267–269.
Weledji EL , Njong S , 2016. Cancrum oris (noma): the role of nutrition in management. J Am Coll Clin Wound Spec 7: 50–52.
Baratti-Mayer D , Pittet B , Montandon D , Bolivar I , Bornand J-E , Hugonnet S , Jaquinet A , Schrenzel J , Pittet D ; Geneva Study Group on Noma , 2003. Noma: an “infectious” disease of unknown etiology. Lancet Infect Dis 3: 419–431.
Enwonwu CO , 1995. Noma: a neglected scourge of children in sub-Saharan Africa. Bull World Health Organ 73: 541–545.
Konsem T , Millogo M , Assouan C , Ouedraogo D , 2014. Evoluting form of cancrum oris, about 55 cases collected at the Academic Hospital Yalgado Ouedraogo of Ouagadougou. Bull Soc Pathol Exot 107: 74–78.
Reynaud J , 1950. Noma and penicillin therapy in Afghanistan. Revue Odontostomatologique 6: 125–138.
Singh A , Mandal A , Seth R , Kabra SK , 2016. Noma in a child with acute leukemia: when the ‘face of poverty’ finds an ally. BMJ Case Rep 2016: bcr2015211674.
Xu L , Wei W , Ge X , Wan S , Yu J , Zhu X , 2019. Noma in a boy with septic shock: a case report. BMC Pediatr 19: 200.
Fieger A , Marck KW , Busch R , Schmidt A , 2003. An estimation of the incidence of noma in northwest Nigeria. Trop Med Int Health 8: 402–407.
Ver-Or N , Iregbu CK , Taiwo OO , Afeleokhai IT , Aza CG , Adaji JZ , Margima C , 2022. Retrospective characterization of noma cases found incidentally across Nigeria during outreach programs for cleft lip from 2011–2020. Am J Trop Med Hyg 107: 1132–1136.
Enwonwu C , Falkler W , Phillips R , 2006. Noma (cancrum oris). Lancet 368: 147–156.
Galli A , Brugger C , Fürst T , Monnier N , Winkler MS , Steinmann P , 2022. Prevalence, incidence, and reported global distribution of noma: a systematic literature review. Lancet Infect Dis 22: e221–e230.
Oji C , 2002. Cancrum oris: its incidence and treatment in Enugu, Nigeria. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg 40: 406–409.
Gebretsadik HG, 2023. The severity of psychosocial and functional morbidity among facially disfigured untreated noma cases in Ethiopia. BMC Res Notes 16: 162.
United Nations Development Programme, 2023. Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023. Unstacking Global Poverty: Data for High Impact Action. Briefing Note for Countries on the 2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index. Ethiopia. Available at: https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/MPI/ETH.pdf. Accessed June 14, 2023.
WHO, Oral Health Unit, 1998. Noma Today, A Public Health Problem?: Report of an Expert Consultation Organized by the Oral Health Unit of the World Health Organization using the Delphi Method. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
Gebretsadik HG , 2023. An update on the epidemiology of noma (facial gangrene) in Ethiopia. Fortune J Health Sci 6: 109–114.
Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia , 2013. Population Projections for Ethiopia 2007–2037. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: CSAE. Available at: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL30967452M/Population_projections_for_Ethiopia_2007-2037. Accessed June 17, 2023.
Fieger A , Marck KW , Busch R , Schmidt A , 2003. An estimation of the incidence of noma in northwest Nigeria. Trop Med Int Health 8: 402–407.
Srour ML , Marck K , Baratti-Mayer D , 2017. Noma: overview of a neglected disease and human rights violation. Am J Trop Med Hyg 96: 268–274.
Shaye DA , Rabbels J , Adetunji AS , Magee A , Vo D , Winters R , 2018. Evaluation of the noma disease burden within the noma belt. JAMA Facial Plast Surg 20: 332–333.
Oginni FO , Oginni AO , Ugboko VI , Otuyemi OD , 1999. A survey of cases of cancrum oris seen in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Int J Paediatr Dent 9: 75–80.
Bello SA , Adeoye JA , Oketade I , Akadiri OA , 2019. Estimated incidence and prevalence of noma in north-central Nigeria, 2010–2018: a retrospective study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 13: e0007574.
Past two years | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 977 | 501 | 84 |
Full Text Views | 70 | 33 | 4 |
PDF Downloads | 87 | 40 | 4 |