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07-10-2009, 11:52 PM
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 My Rank: LANCE CORPORAL Poster Rank:2871 Female Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 139 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Quoted: 1 Post(s)
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Noma Disease =(
Noma is a little known disease that primarily, heartbreakingly threatens thousands of Africa's children each year. Noma, derived from the Greek “nomein” meaning “to devour,” is a devastating bacterial necrosis that develops in the mouth and ravages the faces of its victims. It destroys both the soft and bone tissues of the face and mostly affects young children between the ages of two and six. It is essentially unknown now in the West since 20th century improvements in hygience and nutrition. A Noma victim in Benin, West Africa Noma is often fatal. While a few 'lucky' survivors may receive facial reconstruction, most survivors face a lifetime of exclusion because of horrific disfigurement. It can strike any community that suffers from extreme poverty and malnutrition, and has often been called “the face of poverty.” Afflicting often a village's youngest children, the physical, psychological and social consequences of Noma are tragic: Damaged vital functions: As the disease progresses, the jaws become locked. Victims slowly lose the use of their mouths. The infection gradually attacks the nose and sometimes the eyes, making it difficult to eat, breathe or see. 80 percent death rate: Those who are left untreated either succumb to the infection and/or die of hunger after losing the ability to eat. Life-long disfiguration for survivors: The face is gradually, and often atrociously, disfigured as a result of cicatricial retractions. Rejection by their loved ones: Like lepers, Noma victims suffer from a devastating evil considered as a curse on the family and the village. They are often rejected by their own communities and abandoned to their fate in the middle of nowhere.  · |
