Mycotoxins and Mycotoxicosis
Poultry Pathology (Path-611)
Dr. Muhammad Kashif Saleemi
DVM, M.Sc (Hons.), PhD
Associate Professor (Tenured)
Member National Disease Control Committee (NDCC)
US-NAS One Health Fellowship
Head Diagnostic Laboratory Department of Pathology
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science,
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
, Mycotoxins: Historical Information and Occurrence
▪ During the 1950s, a disease in dogs called hepatitis X
occurred in the southeastern United States and was tied to
the consumption of moldy dog food.
▪ It was later reasoned to have been caused by the same
mycotoxin responsible for high mortality in turkeys due to
hepatic toxicity (turkey X disease) in England in 1960.
▪ Peanut meal imported to England from Brazil was highly
contaminated with fungi of the Aspergillus flavus-
Aspergillus parasiticus group, which produced aflatoxins.
▪ The aflatoxin story was historically important because
aflatoxicosis attracted global attention concerning the
potential problems of mycotoxins in the food chain
,Fungal contamination results in
• Downgrading of commodities
(Anderson and Thrane, 2006)
• Production of mycotoxins
Toxigenic fungi
Produce a variety of mycotoxins
(Aziz-Baumgartner et al., 2004)
, Mycotoxins: Different Types
Mycotoxins: secondary metabolites of toxigenic fungi
• More than 300-400 mycotoxins presently identified,
with new isolation techniques are used.
Aflatoxin B1 Hepato-toxic, carcinogenic
Ochratoxin A Nephrotoxic carcinogenic
Fumonisins Teratogenic Carcinogenic
Deoxynivalenol Gastroenteritis,
Zerealenone Hyperestrogenism
T2-Toxin Gastric ulcers/Enteritis
Poultry Pathology (Path-611)
Dr. Muhammad Kashif Saleemi
DVM, M.Sc (Hons.), PhD
Associate Professor (Tenured)
Member National Disease Control Committee (NDCC)
US-NAS One Health Fellowship
Head Diagnostic Laboratory Department of Pathology
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science,
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
, Mycotoxins: Historical Information and Occurrence
▪ During the 1950s, a disease in dogs called hepatitis X
occurred in the southeastern United States and was tied to
the consumption of moldy dog food.
▪ It was later reasoned to have been caused by the same
mycotoxin responsible for high mortality in turkeys due to
hepatic toxicity (turkey X disease) in England in 1960.
▪ Peanut meal imported to England from Brazil was highly
contaminated with fungi of the Aspergillus flavus-
Aspergillus parasiticus group, which produced aflatoxins.
▪ The aflatoxin story was historically important because
aflatoxicosis attracted global attention concerning the
potential problems of mycotoxins in the food chain
,Fungal contamination results in
• Downgrading of commodities
(Anderson and Thrane, 2006)
• Production of mycotoxins
Toxigenic fungi
Produce a variety of mycotoxins
(Aziz-Baumgartner et al., 2004)
, Mycotoxins: Different Types
Mycotoxins: secondary metabolites of toxigenic fungi
• More than 300-400 mycotoxins presently identified,
with new isolation techniques are used.
Aflatoxin B1 Hepato-toxic, carcinogenic
Ochratoxin A Nephrotoxic carcinogenic
Fumonisins Teratogenic Carcinogenic
Deoxynivalenol Gastroenteritis,
Zerealenone Hyperestrogenism
T2-Toxin Gastric ulcers/Enteritis
