Head Quarter: Eschenweg 6 | CH-4528 Zuchwil | Switzerland | T +41 32 685 54 62 | F +41 32 685 54 92
Laboratory : 14 rue François-Perréard | CH-1225 Chêne-Bourg | Geneva | Switzerland | T +41 22 860 25 67 | F +41 22 860 25 69
Noma (cancrum oris) is a devastating, gangrenous disease leading to severe tissue destruction in the face and associated with high morbidity and mortality. It is observed almost exclusively in young children living in remote areas of developing countries, particularly Africa.
Funded by the Hirzel Foundation, GESNOMA conducts research on the infectious disease of Noma. The main goal of GESNOMA is to understand the mechanisms and causes of the infectious disease of noma with the aim to find an appropriate treatment.
The exact prevalence of the disease is unknown but it has been conservatively estimated that 770,000 persons are currently affected by noma sequelae. While it seems reasonable to assume that noma is a multifactorial disease (malnutrition, a compromised immune system, poor oral hygiene and a lesion of the gingival mucosal barrier), it has long been suggested that bacteria are essential in the development of this condition.
IAI is engaged in this research project to solve the bacteriological part. We are conducting an important study to determine the bacterial diversity in oral samples of children in Niger with acute noma, acute necrotizing gingivitis, and healthy controls, using independent molecular phylogenetic and statistical methods. New and interesting results are in press and will be uncovered and accessible soon.
IAI and Gesnoma is now undertaking even larger samples analyses with the microarrays technic. This will permit to target the bacterial microbiota of noma disease at a wider scale and strengthen the present results.
Visit the Gesnoma site (http://www.gesnoma.org) for more informations and list of publications in which IAI participated.