Introduction

Classification

Taxonomy

• Kingdom:Fungi.
• Division: Amastigomycota.
• Order: Eurotiales.
• Genus: Aspergillus.
• Species: flavus.

Etymology

• L: asperge - to sprinkle.
• L: flavus - yellow.

Active Forms

Clinical Effects

Epidemiology

Habitat

• High humidity and high temperatures during the growth, harvest, transport and storage favor the growth of A. flavus and toxin production.

Transmission

• Ingestion of mycotoxin in food.

Pathological effects

• About half the strains of A. flavus are toxigenic under optimal environmental conditions.
• Mycotoxins Mycotoxicoses are secondary fungal metabolites which induce a range of clinical effects.
• Aflatoxins (produced by Aspergillus spp) are hepatotoxic, teratogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic.
• Clinical effects: drop in milk yield, immunosuppression, nervous signs and decreased food conversion.

Other Host Effects

• Very occasionally acts as an opportunistic pathogen; more often involved in aflatoxicosis.

Control

Other countermeasures

• Prevention of contamination at all stages of food production, eg by rapid drying of harvested crops and by the use of preservatives.
• Decontamination strategies include physical removal, thermal inactivation, irradiation, microbial degradation and chemical treatment.
• Legislation exists in many countries to regulate maximum acceptable levels of aflatoxins in human and animal food.

Diagnosis

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.