VMC 311: Systematic Veterinary Bacteriology and Mycology (2+1)

CLINICAL FEATURES OF MYCOTOXICOSIS

• Some important clinical features of mycotoxicoses are
  • The disesase produced are not transmissible to incontact animals.
  • Outbreaks are often seasonal and sporadic, and may be associated with certain batches of stored food or particular types of pasture.
  • Intially, the signs of illness are decreased growth rate or immunosuppression.
  • Treatments such as antibodies are usually ineffective.
  • Recovery generally depends on the type and amount of mycotoxin ingested and the duration of the exposure to contaminated feed.
  • The only acceptable evidence for the presence of mycotocoses in animals is the laboratory demonstration of mycotoxins in suspected food, or in the tissues, secretions or excretions of affected animals.
  • Characteristic lesions in target organs of affected animals are important supporting diagnostic evidence.