Campaigners draw attention to disfiguring childhood disease

doi:10.1136/bmj.39570.659016.DB

BMJ 2008;336:1038-1039 (10 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.39570.659016.DB

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Campaigners draw attention to disfiguring childhood disease

Peter Moszynski

¹ London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

A campaign has been launched to combat a childhood oral diseasethat occurs in areas of extreme poverty and malnutrition.

The World Health Organisation estimates that there are about100 000 cases a year worldwide of noma (cancrum oris), an opportunistinfectious childhood oral disease, with an 80% fatality rate.Its survivors are left so badly scarred that often they areostracised from their communities. It mainly affects young childrenwith micronutrient deficiencies and starts as gingivitis thatturns into necrotising ulcerative tissue or an undetected oedemain the cheek. The infection develops rapidly in a few days beforebecoming irreversible because of weakening natural defences.

The No Noma Federation, a coalition of charities and organisationsunited to fight the disease, has been set up to improve prevention,detection, research, and medical and surgical management.

The Swiss consultant psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard, presidentof the No Noma Federation, previously established the . . . [Full text of this article]

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