Disease |
Fungi or Molds |
Regions Where Reported |
Contaminated Toxic Foodstuff |
Animal(s) Affected |
Signs and Tissue Changes |
Aflatoxicosis |
Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus |
Widespread (warmer climatic zones) |
Moldy peanuts, soybeans, cottonseeds, rice, sorghum, corn (maize), other cereals |
Dogs, chickens |
Major effects are slow growth and toxicity of the liver |
Ergotism |
Claviceps purpurea |
Widespread |
Seedheads of many grasses, grains |
Horses, chickens |
Peripheral gangrene, late gestation suppression of lactation initiation |
|
Claviceps paspali, C. cinerea |
Widespread |
Seedheads of paspalum grasses |
Horses |
Acute tremors and incoordination |
Estrogenism |
Fusarium graminearum |
Widespread |
Moldy corn and pelleted cereal feeds |
Chickens |
Reduced egg production |
Fescue foot |
Acremonium coenophialum |
US, Australia, New Zealand, Italy |
Tall fescue grass (Festuca arundinacea) |
Horses |
Lameness, weight loss, fever, dry gangrene of extremities, no milk production, thickened fetal membranes |
Fusariotoxicosis |
Fusarium sporotrichoides, F culmorum, F graminearum, F nivale |
Widespread |
Cereal crops, moldy roughage |
Horses, chickens |
Feed refusal, decreased appetite and milk production, diarrhea, staggers, skin irritation, immunosuppression |
Leukoencephalomalacia |
Fusarium verticilloides |
Egypt, US, South Africa, Greece |
Moldy corn (maize) |
Horses, other equids |
Depends on degree and specific site of brain injury |
Mycotoxic lupinosis (as distinct from alkaloid poisoning) |
Phomopsis leptostromiformis |
Widespread |
Moldy seed, pods, stubble, and haulm of several Lupinus species affected by Phomopsis stem blight |
Horses |
Listlessness, no appetite, stupor, jaundice, marked liver injury; usually fatal |
Myrotheciotoxicosis |
Myrothecium verrucaria, M roridum |
Southeast Europe, former Soviet Union |
Moldy rye stubble, straw |
Horses |
Sudden—diarrhea, trouble breathing, bleeding in stomach and intestines, immunosuppression, death Longterm—Stomach and intestinal ulcers, unthriftiness, gradual recovery |
Ochratoxicosis |
Aspergillus ochraceus and others, Penicillium viridicatum, P citrinum |
Widespread |
Moldy barley, corn, wheat |
Chickens |
Kidney edema and enlargement, kidney failure, increased water consumption, immunosuppression |
Penicillium-associated tremorgens |
Penicillium crustosum, P cyclopium, P commune |
Widespread |
Cereal grains, cheese, fruit, meats, nuts, refrigerated foods, compost |
Dogs, horses |
Neurotoxic signs, including tremors, seizures, hyperexcitability, unsteadiness. Vomiting in dogs. |
Perennial ryegrass staggers |
Acremonium loliae, an endophyte fungus confined to Lolium perenne |
Australia, New Zealand, Europe, US |
Endophyte-infected ryegrass pastures |
Horses |
Tremors, incoordination, collapse, convulsive spasms |
Poultry hemorrhagic syndrome |
Probably Aspergillus flavus, A clavatus, Penicillium Purpurogenum, Alternaria sp |
USA |
moldy grain and meal |
Growing chickens |
Depression, lack of appetite, no weight gain, widespread internal bleeding, anemia, death |
Slobbers syndrome |
Rhizoctonia leguminicola |
USA |
Black patch disease, legumes (especially red clover) eaten as forage or hay |
Horses |
Drooling, bloat, diarrhea, sometimes death. Recovery usual when removed from clover. |
Stachybotryotoxicosis |
Stachybotrys atra (S alternans) |
Former Soviet Union, southest Europe |
Moldy roughage, other contaminated feed |
Horses |
Mouth sores, lack of appetite, bleeding in many organs, inflamed intestines, immunosuppression |
Sweet clover poisoning |
Penicillium, Mucor, and Aspergillus species |
North America |
Sweet clover (Melilotus species) |
Horses |
Stiffness, lameness, bleeding from the nose or into the gastrointestinal tract |
Tremorgen ataxia syndrome |
Penicillium crustosum, P puberulum, P verruculosum, P roqueforti, Aspergillus flavus, A fumigatus, A clavatus, and others |
US, South Africa, probably worldwide |
Moldy feed |
All species |
Tremors, rapid breathing, incoordination, collapse, convulsive spasms |