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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Kat Lay, Global health correspondent

‘Astonishing’ discovery could help save children from deadly disfiguring condition

A smiling girl with facial scarring
Sakina, a six-year-old noma survivor from Sokoto state in Nigeria. Photograph: Claire Jeantet/Fabrice Caterini/Inediz

The “astonishing” discovery of a new bacterium could open the door to better ways to prevent, detect and treat a fatal and disfiguring childhood disease, researchers hope.

Noma, which is fatal in 90% of cases without treatment, begins as a sore on the gums but goes on to destroy the tissues of the mouth and face.

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