Prevalence, incidence, and reported global distribution of noma: a systematic literature review

Galli, Anaïs; Brugger, Curdin; Fürst, Thomas; Monnier, Nora; Winkler, Mirko S.; Steinmann, Peter

doi:10.1016/s1473-3099(21)00698-8

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The global burden of disease of noma is hard to assess. 2 In 1998, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that up to 770,000 experience noma, with 140,000 new cases each year. 2 Noma occurs in low-income settings where oral health professionals are scarce, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Noma: Eradicating a Preventable Disease to Save Lives

2023

International Dental Journal

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Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Noma: Eradicating a Preventable Disease to Save Lives

2023

International Dental Journal

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“…The “noma belts” in sub-Saharan Africa and other noma hotbeds across the globe coincide with countries distinctly characterized as underdeveloped economies with significant impoverished populations (Marck 2003b; Srour and Baratti-Mayer 2020; Galli et al 2022; Fig. 1).…”

Section: Noma the Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Noma, also referred to as cancrum oris, is a debilitating gangrenous disease of the orofacial region (Tempest 1966; Enwonwu et al 1999; Enwonwu et al 2000; Galli et al 2022; Fig. 2).…”

Section: Noma the Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

Noma: A Neglected Area for Research

Ogbureke

2022

J Dent Res

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Noma, a debilitating and destructive orofacial gangrene, remains endemic in the poor countries of sub-Saharan Africa and other noma hotbeds across the globe, mainly in countries characterized as underdeveloped economies with significant impoverished populations. Noma mostly affects children and infants. This is in spite of the universally held notion that noma is a preventable disease. Indeed, the current noma status quo has been cast as a human rights shortfall, since this devasting disease overwhelmingly affects children from poor countries. At the recently held Noma Research Day, a renewed call for the World Health Organization (WHO) to recognize and include noma as one of the neglected tropical diseases was accompanied by a recognition that research into all aspects of noma has waned or remained completely lacking—particularly that which addresses the basic science questions of the etiology, pathophysiology/pathobiology, and underlying mechanisms of the disease. Yet, a lack of incremental knowledge on the various aspects of noma continues to hamper our composite understanding of its biology. Without a fundamental understanding of the biology of noma, current preventive measures and treatment modalities will continue to fall short of the goals of prevention and eradication. This opinion piece draws renewed attention to the urgency of listing noma as a neglected tropical disease by the WHO. It also calls for major international research funding agencies, including the WHO and the National Institutes of Health, to renew their resolve to robustly fund structured, collaborative, and coordinated proposals that address questions on the epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology/pathobiology, and molecular mechanisms of the disease. This is with a view to achieving more effective public health approaches toward prevention and to designing potential therapeutic regimens for early lesions. These steps are key to the ultimate eradication of noma.

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“…Three systematic reviews were later published [ 7 , 8 , 23 ]. In brief, most of articles were published in the 2000s and focused on medical aspects of the diseases (aetiology, treatment) [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In brief, most of articles were published in the 2000s and focused on medical aspects of the diseases (aetiology, treatment) [ 7 , 8 ]. Resulting from a systematic review, at least 23 countries with noma cases were identified with most of cases in the noma belt counties in West Africa [ 23 ]. Overall, the literature clearly shows that progress has been made in terms of knowledge and prevention of the disease but also highlights major gaps, some of which have been identified in the research project of which this study is a part (i.e., the noma project).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Noma: Experiences of Survivors, Opinion Leaders and Healthcare Professionals in Burkina Faso

et al. 2022

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The scientific literature on noma (Cancrum Oris) has clearly increased in recent decades, but there seems to have been limited analysis of issues around the psycho-social impacts of this disease. Even when these issues have been addressed, the focus has tended to be on patient experiences, whereas the community dimension of the disease and the role of healthcare professionals and community leaders in mitigating these impacts remain largely unexplored. A study in the form of semi-directed interviews with 20 noma survivors and 10 healthcare professionals and community leaders was conducted between January and March 2021 in Burkina Faso with the aim of describing the experiences of noma survivors, generating knowledge about living with the burden of the disease and understanding the attitudes of community leaders towards the disease. The results reveal that noma is a disease that affects economically vulnerable populations and leads to extreme household poverty. As far as treatment is concerned, patients tend to turn to practitioners of both traditional and modern medicine. Within communities, noma survivors face discrimination and stigma. The study highlighted a lack of information and knowledge about noma. However, surgical operations lead to patient satisfaction and these remain one of the coping strategies used to tackle the stigma and discrimination. The recommendations set out in this article are aimed firstly at stepping up research into the psycho-social impacts of noma, and secondly at considering these impacts in regional programmes and national plans to combat the disease.

show abstract

Prevalence, incidence, and reported global distribution of noma: a systematic literature review

Cited by 21 publications

References 39 publications

Noma: Eradicating a Preventable Disease to Save Lives

Noma: Eradicating a Preventable Disease to Save Lives

Noma: A Neglected Area for Research

Noma: Experiences of Survivors, Opinion Leaders and Healthcare Professionals in Burkina Faso

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