The Pathology of Mycotoxicosis of Certain Fungi in Chickens

For centuries some fungi have been known to be toxic. A classic example of this is ergotism or St. Anthony's fire, a poisoning caused by Claviceps purpurea. Wilson and Wilson (9) studied many species of fungus for toxigenicity in relation to oxalate formation. They found Aspergillus luchuensis, Aspergillus flavus, and an unidentified Aspergillus sp. to be oxalate-positive and lethal for mice. The mice developed signs of severe malnutrition and died within a few days of being placed on a diet of moldy feed containing excess oxalate. Uraguchi et al. (8) studied the methanol extract of Penicillium islandicum fed to mice and observed liver histopathology characterized by: 1) fatty metamorphosis; 2) hydropic degeneration, with the presence of so-called balloon cells; 3) coagulation necrosis of cytoplasma, with hyperchromatosis of the nuclear membrane, karyorrhexis, and karyolysis; and 4) necrosis, with complete loss of nuclei or destruction of necrotic liver cells in the centrolobular region. In England in 1960, Asplin and Carnaghan (3) described outbreaks of an unknown disease causing high mortality in turkey poults and ducklings. This disease, known as Turkey X disease, was associated with the presence of Brazilian peanut meal in the rations. Allcroft and Loosmore (1), in 1963, stated that in all species the most important lesions, due to a toxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus, were in the liver. Macroscopic lesions in most species consist of pallor and mottling of the liver, with some degree of ascites and visceral edema.