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Mycotoxicosis

Other Names: Avian Mycotoxicosis

Mycotoxicoses are diseases resulting from consumption or exposure to mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi that can cause serious health problems in animals, especially chickens. They are produced by various molds belonging primarily to the species of the Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium genera. Mycotoxins are produced both pre- and post-harvest in crops and other feed and food commodities. Mycotoxins have also been isolated and in some cases, abundant in straw, dust, materials used for animal bedding, certain pasture grasses, hay, medicinal herbs, fruits and nuts.

Ingestion of mycotoxins can cause acute, overt disease with high morbidity and death to chronic, depressed resistance to pathogens and reduced productivity. Chronic ingestion of low levels of mycotoxins can cause a wide range of metabolic, physiologic, and immunologic disturbances in chickens. The European Union (EU) and the Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA) in the United States, has established limits for several mycotoxins that are regulated.

Mycotoxin	Exposure Effects	Regulatory limits for animal feed
Aflatoxins (AF)	Causes liver damage, tumors, gastrointestinal dysfunction, reduced productivity, birth defects, and suppressed immune system.	EU: <20 ppb FDA: For starter and grower feeds, corn, and peanut products intended for poultry feed, excluding cottonseed meal: <20 ppb Laying hen feed, corn and peanut products intended for mature poultry: <100 ppb Cottonseed meal intended for all poultry: <300 ppb
Citrinin	Causes kidney damage, watery fecal droppings, reduced weight gain, anemia, hyperkalemia, metabolic acidosis, and reduced blood pH	EU/FDA: No restrictions set
Cyclopiazonic acid	Poor weight gain and feed conversion, reproductive tract impairment	EU/FDA: No restrictions set
Ergotamine	Tissue necrosis and neurological signs	EU/FDA: No restrictions set
Deoxynivalenol (DON)	Damages the epithelial intestinal barrier of the chicken's gastrointestinal tract, inhibits protein synthesis, and predisposes them to developing necrotic enteritis	EU: < 5 ppm FDA (only advisory level, does not enforce): < 10 ppm for grain and grain by-products and < 5 ppm for complete feeds.
Fumonisins	Damages the intestinal barrier of the GI system, decreases nutrient absorption, predisposes chickens to developing necrotic enteritis	EU: < 20 mg/kg FDA: < 50 mg/kg
Fusarochromanone	Tibial dyschondroplasia	EU/FDA: No restrictions set
Moniliformin	Acute death	EU/FDA: No restrictions set
Ochratoxin A (OTA)	Weight loss, granular degeneration in the epithelium and mononuclear cell infiltration and activation of capillary endothelium in the kidney and liver; degenerative changes and depletion of lymphoid organs (bursa of Fabricius, thymus and spleen)	EU: < 0.1 mg/kg FDA: No restrictions set
Oosporein	Causes kidney damage, extensive visceral gout, dehydration, reduced feed intake, and decreased egg production	EU/FDA: No restrictions set
Sterigmatocystin	Decreased egg production, reduced feed intake, pale egg shells, liver impairment, embryo malformations and mortality	EU/FDA: No restrictions set
T-2 Toxins (T-2)	Oral lesions, irritation, hemorrhage, and necrosis of digestive tract, and immune system impairment.	EU/FDA: No restrictions set
Zearalenone (ZEA)	Reproductive impairment, egg shell quality, problems with vitamin D3 metabolism	EU/FDA: No restrictions set

Certain types of fungi and mycotoxins are attracted to particular crop species, climates, and weather events, and their distribution differs across geographical regions.

Strategies to minimize mycotoxin risk during feed storage

The effects of mycotoxins vary widely in poultry and depend on many factors such as whether there is co-contamination with multiple types of mycotoxins, amount (dose) ingested, duration of exposure, species, age, stress level, diet, and immune system. Poultry can develop an acute condition or chronic due to mycotoxins. Diagnosis of mycotoxins in poultry can be difficult, due to a number of complicating factors which include:

Mold growth is not uniform in feed, which makes testing feed samples difficult, slow and expensive.
Usually there are multiple mycotoxins involved, making diagnosis difficult as there are additive and even synergistic interactions.
Mycotoxins affect more than one body system simultaneously.
Not all mycotoxins can be detected in routine mycotoxin testing by commercial laboratories.
Forage (hay, silage) and animal bedding (straw, shavings ) are not regulated for the presence of mycotoxins.

Often times, symptoms are general and similar to that caused by many other diseases. Also, since chronic cases involve the ingestion of low levels of mycotoxins over a period of times, feed, bedding and pasture contamination is often overlooked. Samples of at least 500g (1lb) of suspected contaminated feed or ingredient should be properly collected in separate containers and promptly submitted to a feed testing laboratory for analysis.

Clinical Signs

Feed refusal

Diarrhea

Blackening of the comb, toes and beak

Decreased egg production

Impaired egg quality

Oral lesions

Altered feathering

Increased water intake

Weight loss or stunted growth

Poor skin

Diagnosis

History
Clinical signs
Physical exam
Mycotoxin Multiresidue screen
RT iq-PCR assay
ELISA

Reported Cases

Case 1: Mycotoxicosis in a Chickens A disease syndrome characterized by raised yellowish-white lesions in the oral cavity was observed in several commercial broiler flocks. Growth rates were depressed, and 10% died. Fowl pox was ruled out by infectivity tests in susceptible birds with lesion material. A similar outbreak occurred in fancy pigeons fed visibly moldy feed. The oral lesions in pigeons contained large numbers of avirulent Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli. Identical oral lesions were produced in the laboratory by feeding chickens small concentrations of fusariotoxin T-2 produced by the fungus Fusarium tricinctum. Ref

Treatment

Name	Summary
Supportive care	Isolate the bird from the flock and place in a safe, comfortable, warm location (your own chicken "intensive care unit") with easy access to water and food. Limit stress. Call your veterinarian	.
Probiotics	Have showed benefit at reducing the harmful effects of mycotoxins	M Ferrer et al., 2015
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)	Berries, leaves, juice and oil have shown to be of benefit in reducing the harmful effects of mycotoxins in the diet	T Ramasamy et al., 2010
Vitamins E and C	Oral supplementation of additional vitamins might partially counteract the toxicity of infection with multiple mycotoxins	Ahmadi A et al., 2015; Salimian J et al., 2014; Weber M et al., 2007; Rizzo AF et al., 1994
Banana peel	Dried banana peel added to feed	Shar ZH et al., 2016
Turmeric extract (Curcuma longa))	5 mg/kg in feed has shown to provide protection against the toxic effects of aflatoxins on the chicken's liver and kidney	Gholami-Ahangaran et al., 2015; Rangsaz et al., 2011
Bacillus subtilis	1000g/t added to diet helps offset the negative effects of mycotoxins	Jia R et al., 2016; Fan Y et al., 2013
Black cumin (Nigella sativa)	2-5% added to feed	Khan SH et al., 2013; Aydin R et al., 2008
Yeast extract (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)	1 g/kg added to diet	Matur E et al., 2011; Matur E et al., 2010
Neutral electrolyzed oxidizing water (NEW)	Soaking contaminated foods in 60mg/L available chlorine, pH 7.01) for 15 minutes at room temperature	Jardon-Xicotencatl S et al., 2015
Mycofix Select	Provides some protective effects against the toxins	Lee JT et al., 2012
Beer fermentation residue (BFR)	1% of feed, reduced severity of the effects of aflatoxins	Bovo et al., 2015
Selenium	Adding sodium selenite (0.6 mg/kg)	Chen et al., 2014
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) extract	500 ppm	Manafi et al., 2014

Support

Prevention

Store feed in a sealed, rodent-proof container that contains no holes.
Do not let food ever get damp. Moisture is the number one instigator for mold growth. Keep under 14% moisture.
Feed should be inspected regularly for temperature, insects, and wet spots.
During wet weather chickens should not have access to compost areas and uneaten decaying fruits and vegetables should be removed from these areas at all times.
Ensure your birds do not eat potting mixes and plant fertilizers as these are common sources of toxic molds and bacteria

Scientific References

Pandey, Abhay K., et al.. Fungal mycotoxins in food commodities: present status and future concerns Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, 1162595 (2023)
Yu, Jianmei, and Ivana Ramos Pedroso.. Mycotoxins in cereal-based products and their impacts on the health of humans, livestock animals and pets Toxins 15.8 (2023)
Antonissen G, De Baere S, Devreese M, Van Immerseel F, Martel A, Croubels S.. Feed contamination with Fusarium mycotoxins induces a corticosterone stress response in broiler chickens. Poult Sci. (2017)
Shephard GS. Current Status of Mycotoxin Analysis: A Critical Review. J AOAC Int. (2016)
Kirjavainen PV, Täubel M, Karvonen AM, Sulyok M, Tiittanen P, Krska R, Hyvärinen A, Pekkanen J.. Microbial secondary metabolites in homes in association with moisture damage and asthma. Indoor Air. (2016)
Bócsai A, Pelyhe C, Zándoki E, Ancsin Z, Szabó-Fodor J, Erdélyi M, Mézes M, Balogh K.. Short-term effects of T-2 toxin exposure on some lipid peroxide and glutathione redox parameters of broiler chickens. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl) (2016)
Gholami-Ahangaran M, Rangsaz N, Azizi S.. Evaluation of turmeric (Curcuma longa) effect on biochemical and pathological parameters of liver and kidney in chicken aflatoxicosis. Pharm Biol. (2016)
Pappas AC, Tsiplakou E, Tsitsigiannis DI, Georgiadou M, Iliadi MK, Sotirakoglou K, Zervas G.. The role of bentonite binders in single or concomitant mycotoxin contamination of chicken diets. Br Poult Sci. (2016)
Shang QH, Yang ZB, Yang WR, Li Z, Zhang GG, Jiang SZ.. Toxicity of Mycotoxins from Contaminated Corn with or withoutYeast Cell Wall Adsorbent on Broiler Chickens. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. (2016)
Kongkapan J, Poapolathep S, Isariyodom S, Kumagai S, Poapolathep A.. Simultaneous detection of multiple mycotoxins in broiler feeds using a liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry. J Vet Med Sci. (2016)
Galarza-Seeber R, Latorre JD, Bielke LR, Kuttappan VA, Wolfenden AD, Hernandez-Velasco X, Merino-Guzman R, Vicente JL, Donoghue A, Cross D, Hargis BM, Tellez G.. Leaky Gut and Mycotoxins: Aflatoxin B1 Does Not Increase Gut Permeability in Broiler Chickens. Front Vet Sci. (2016)
Antonissen G, Van Immerseel F, Pasmans F, Ducatelle R, Janssens GP, De Baere S, Mountzouris KC, Su S, Wong EA, De Meulenaer B, Verlinden M, Devreese M, Haesebrouck F, Novak B, Dohnal I, Martel A, Crou. Mycotoxins Deoxynivalenol and Fumonisins Alter the Extrinsic Component of Intestinal Barrier in Broiler Chickens. J Agric Food Chem. (2015)
Schwartz-Zimmermann HE, Fruhmann P, Dänicke S, Wiesenberger G, Caha S, Weber J, Berthiller F.. Metabolism of deoxynivalenol and deepoxy-deoxynivalenol in broiler chickens, pullets, roosters and turkeys. Toxins (Basel) (2015)
Heussner AH, Bingle LE.. Comparative Ochratoxin Toxicity: A Review of the Available Data. Toxins (Basel). (2015)
Shang Q, Jiang S, Yang Z, Yang W, Zhang G, Li Z.. Toxicity of Mycotoxins from Contaminated Corn with or without Yeast Cell Wall Adsorbent on Broiler Chickens. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci. (2015)
Yin HB, Chen CH, Kollanoor-Johny A, Darre MJ, Venkitanarayanan K.. Controlling Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production in poultry feed using carvacrol and trans-cinnamaldehyde. Poult Sci. (2015)
Gallo A, Giuberti G, Frisvad JC, Bertuzzi T, Nielsen KF.. Review on Mycotoxin Issues in Ruminants: Occurrence in Forages, Effects of Mycotoxin Ingestion on Health Status and Animal Performance and Practical Strategies to Counteract Their Negative Effects. Toxins (Basel) (2015)
Manafi M, Pirany N, Noor Ali M, Hedayati M, Khalaji S, Yari M.. Experimental pathology of T-2 toxicosis and mycoplasma infection on performance and hepatic functions of broiler chickens. Poult Sci. (2015)
Devreese M, Antonissen G, Broekaert N, De Baere S, Vanhaecke L, De Backer P, Croubels S.. Comparative toxicokinetics, absolute oral bioavailability, and biotransformation of zearalenone in different poultry species. J Agric Food Chem. (2015)
Nedeljković-Trailović J, Trailović S, Resanović R, Milićević D, Jovanovic M, Vasiljevic M.. Comparative investigation of the efficacy of three different adsorbents against OTA-induced toxicity in broiler chickens. Toxins (Basel). (2015)
Ghareeb K, Awad WA, Böhm J, Zebeli Q.. Impacts of the feed contaminant deoxynivalenol on the intestine of monogastric animals: poultry and swine. J Appl Toxicol. (2015)
Urusov AE, Zherdev AV, Petrakova AV, Sadykhov EG, Koroleva OV, Dzantiev BB.. Rapid multiple immunoenzyme assay of mycotoxins. Toxins (Basel). (2015)
Poersch AB, Trombetta F, Braga AC, Boeira SP, Oliveira MS, Dilkin P, Mallmann CA, Fighera MR, Royes LF, Oliveira MS, Furian AF.. Involvement of oxidative stress in subacute toxicity induced by fumonisin B1 in broiler chicks. Vet Microbiol. (2014)
Greco MV, Franchi ML, Rico Golba SL, Pardo AG, Pose GN.. Mycotoxins and mycotoxigenic fungi in poultry feed for food-producing animals Scientific World Journal (2014)
Antonissen G, Martel A, Pasmans F, Ducatelle R, Verbrugghe E, Vandenbroucke V, Li S, Haesebrouck F, Van Immerseel F, Croubels S.. The impact of Fusarium mycotoxins on human and animal host susceptibility to infectious diseases. Toxins (Basel). (2014)
Gholampour Azizi I, Azarmi M, Danesh Pouya N, Rouhi S.. T-2 toxin Analysis in Poultry and Cattle Feedstuff. Jundishapur J Nat Pharm Prod. (2014)
Dänicke S, Beineke A, Rautenschlein S, Valenta H, Kersten S, Gauly M.. Ascaridia galli infection affects pullets differently when feed is contaminated with the Fusarium toxin deoxynivalenol (DON) Veterinary Parasitology (2013)
Monge MP, Dalcero AM, Magnoli CE, Chiacchiera SM.. Natural co-occurrence of fungi and mycotoxins in poultry feeds from Entre Ríos, Argentina Food Addit Contam Part B Surveill (2013)
Dean Konjevic et al. A pathological condition possibly caused by spontaneous trichotecene poisoning in Brahma poultry: first report Avian Pathology (2010)
Liu FX, Sun S, Cui ZZ.. Analysis of immunological enhancement of immunosuppressed chickens by Chinese herbal extracts J Ethnopharmacol (2010)
N Thomas, D Hunter and C Atkinson Infectious Diseases of Wild Birds. Blackwell Publishing (2007)
Sun JL, Hu YL, Wang DY, Zhang BK, Liu JG.. Immunologic enhancement of compound Chinese herbal medicinal ingredients and their efficacy comparison with compound Chinese herbal medicines. Vaccine (2006)
J. W. Bennett, M. Klich Mycotoxins . Clinical Microbiology (2003)

Good Overviews

G Lorenzoni, E Hines Mycotoxins and Their Effect on Poultry and Swine Production. Penn State Extension (2018)

Risk Factors

Purchasing poor or low quality feed products
Feeding birds feed or using bedding that is moldy or suspected of mold contamination.