Noma: public health problem in Senegal and epidemilogical surveillance

Noma or cancrum oris is currently a real public health problem for developing countries. In Senegal, awareness of the disease has led the country to be included in the noma programme initiated by the WHO as early as 1994. The objectives are to evaluate the incidence of necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (NUG) among children, to evaluate the prevalence of noma and infantile diseases, and to promote prevention strategies among vulnerable populations. Data processing was carried out in two phases: manual processing consisted of checking the questionnaires by nurses, and computer processing started as early as the first collection of data. Noma occurs owing to fever and similar cases. Successfully fighting against malnutrition would allow us to reduce the noma rate.