Yenenesh Yigsaw (right) recovers from her latest reconstructive surgery with other Noma patients at a recuperation centre outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. Credit: Nick Ashdown/IPS
January 22, 2014, Addis Ababa (IPS News) — It’s hard to tell if Gelegay Tsegaye is smiling, since a flap of skin covers half his mouth, but his eyes crinkle when he talks and his muffled voice rings with an upbeat cadence. He’s sitting in a special ward of the Korean Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s most modern healthcare facility. Gelegay’s affability is notable because of what he’s gone through. The 34-year-old farmer from a village in Ethiopia’s Gojam region is a survivor of Noma, a rare flesh-eating infection that rots away the face.
When he was just two years old, Gelegay noticed black spots forming on his nose, which quickly spread downwards to his mouth. He received rudimentary treatment, but the diseased part of his face fell off.
Noma is only found amongst children (primary incidence is between the ages of one and four) in the poorest regions of the world, such as rural parts of sub-Saharan Africa and India. The World Health Organisation estimates there are 140,000 new cases globally each year. Read more…
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