Forensic findings on acute mortality of piglets after ingestion of aflatoxin

Abstract

© 2015, KAFKAS UNIVERSITY. All rights received. Aflatoxin (AF) is one of the most significant mycotoxins in pigs and results in a significant decrease of production performance. This paper describes the first case of acute effects of AF in suckling piglets in Serbia. Within 7 days, 420 suckling piglets aged 20±3 days died on a farm. Forensic findings included a medical history, clinical presentation with pathomorphological and histopathological confirmation of intoxication of the piglets with AF. Detection of AF in sows’ milk (870 μg/kg), which was the primary nutriment for the piglets, confirmed the suspicion of AF intoxication. The piglets at that age also consumed solid feed, which was found to be contaminated with AF (960 μg/kg), and which accelerated the process of intoxication. After removal of the contaminated feed, the number of deaths began to reduce, as well as the clinical symptoms typical for AF.