The consequences

The physical, psychological and social consequences are all equally 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% 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.