Is noma an infectious disease? Is it transmissible?

Results A total of 82 acute noma cases and 327 controls were recruited. The noma epidemic curve declined during the study-period (P=0.04) with no seasonal effect (P=0.74). There was no intra-family case, but an older sibling rank was associated with a higher odds of developing noma (OR>=3 position 3.51; 95%CI: 1.57-7.85). Noma was also associated with severe wasting (OR 7.79; 3.89-15.57), severe stunting (OR 5.22; 2.73-9.97), a higher number of past pregnancies in the mother (OR 1.19 for each additional child; 1.08-1.32), the presence for any other disease within the last 3 months (OR 3.52; 1.89-6.54) or family posses no chicken at home, as aproxy for poverty (OR 2.53; 1.32-4.82). No association was observed between noma and serological status to various viruses (EBV, VZV, HSV, CMV, Morbillivirus). Definitive microbiological data will be available at time of the meeting.