Definition
- It’s a type of gangrene that destroys mucous membranes of the mouth and other tissues.
- Noma is a severe disfiguring gangrene of the mouth and face that starts as a gingival ulcer and spreads rapidly through the tissues of the mouth and face.
- Noma (also referred to as cancrum oris, fusospirochetal gangrene,necrotizing ulcerative stomatitis, stomatitis gangrenosa) is a rapidly progressive, polymicrobial, often gangrenous infection of the mouth
Incidence
- Cancrum oris is now rarely seen in the industrial world, but in many developing countries it is not uncommon.
- Although cancrum oris can occur at any age, you will see it most commonly in a malnourished child between 1 and 5, whose general health has been further weakened by some infectious disease
- World Health Organization figures suggest it affects 140,000 children a year.
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