Noma, also known as cancrum oris , 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. It is associated with poverty, malnutrition, and poor sanitation. Unlike other infectious processes of the face, which may progress along anatomic spaces of the head and neck, noma can disrupt anatomic barriers and spread through muscle and bone. Noma is categorized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a necrotizing ulcerative stomatitis.
Microbiology Noma is a polymicrobial infection associated predominantly with anaerobic organisms, although identifying a specific causative infectious agent can be difficult. Fusobacterium necrophorum is observed most frequently in culture and is suspected to be an important organism for the development of noma. Other organisms identified to be involved are P.…
