Aflatoxicosis and Bruising in the Chicken

Abstract

INTRODUCTION THE study of mycotoxicoses in this country was initiated mainly by Forgacs and Carll (1962) who investigated a hemorrhagic anemia syndrome in poultry which they equated to a moldy feed toxicosis. This syndrome was characterized by extensive hemorrhaging in the musculature and internal organs and by aplastic anemia. This hemorrhagic syndrome could be induced by Aspergillus flavus and many other fungi. A. flavus is known to produce aflatoxin which is a hepatotoxin (Ciegler and Lillehoj, 1968) that causes a disease in chickens characterized by poor growth rates and inefficient feed conversions (Carnaghan et al., 1966; Gardiner and Oldroyd, 1965; and Smith and Hamilton, 1970). The sudden occurrence of a high incidence of bruising on two poultry farms in North Carolina and the finding of aflatoxin in the chicken feed used on these farms suggested that aflatoxin might be involved in the hemorrhagic syndrome of chickens. This relationship between aflatoxicosis…