RAJAB 11 1430 A.H.
FRIDAY JULY, 3 2009.
Print This Page 
Why NOMA is common in North West --Don
Prof. Eyitayo Ogunbodede of the Department of Dentistry, Obafemi Awolowo University, yesterday in Abuja attributed the prevalence of NOMA, an oral disease among children in the North Western zone, to proximity to livestock.
Ogunbodede disclosed this at a ceremony to commemorate the 2009 ``World NOMA Day’’, the first time it was being celebrated in Nigeria by the ministry of health.
He said his comments was based on the possibility of animal transmission of the disease, which mortality rate among children between two years and 12 years was put at about 90 per cent.
The minister of state for health, Dr Idi Hong, said NOMA, medically known as Cancrum Oris, was an opportunistic infection.
He said if left untreated in the early stages, it could destroy the soft tissues and bones in the face and leave the patient permanently disfigured.
Hong noted that the disease thrived in communities characterised by extreme poverty, severe malnutrition, unsafe drinking water, poor environmental sani tation, limited access to quality health care and poor oral health practice.
He said the disease was high in sub-Saharan African countries of Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Nigeria, adding that the mortality rate was between 70 per cent to 90 per cent.
``The high mortality rate was because parents of affected children were often too ashamed to seek medical care for the patients. They consider their children’s condition as an evil omen.
``The faces of the children disfigured by this disease are a shameful reproach to Nigeria as a nation,'' he said.
Hong noted that if stakeholders joined hands together to fight NOMA, it could be eradicated from Nigeria and advised parents to ensure that their children ate balanced dieted to fight malnutrition.
In a goodwill message, the Country Representative of WHO, Dr Peter Eriki, said to control the disease worldwide, the organisation had mapped out a five-point strategy under the integrated oral health programme.
Eriki, who was represented by Dr Lola Sadiq, said the strategies included prevention, epidemiological surveillance, capacity building and surgery as a last resort.
`` NOMA is preventable, if the disease is detected early; simple and low-cost health care can be provided to stop the progression to the gangrenous stage, avoiding surgery and disfigurement,” he said.
