Farmer’s Weekly – 23 August 2019

horsetalk

thehorsefeed,orthefeed

hasa mustysmell,thismay

beduetofungalgrowth.In

general,commercialhorse

feedis producedbythesame

manufacturersthatproduce

livestockfeedandtheingredients

areregularlytested.

It is thereforemoreriskytomix

yourownfeed,especiallyif you

buyingredientsdirectlyfrom

farmersthatarenotsubjected

totheroutinetestingexpected

offeedmanufacturers.It is

alsoparticularlydangerousto

feedgroundnuthaytohorses

asthishasa highriskofbeing

contaminatedwithaflatoxins.

• Sources:Singh,SDandChuturgoon,
  AA.2017.‘Acomparativeanalysis
  of mycotoxincontaminationof
  supermarketandpremiumbrand
  pelleteddogfoodin Durban,South
  Africa’.JournaloftheSouth
  AfricanVeterinaryAssociation.
  doi.org/10.4102/jsava.v88i0.1488.


• Caloni.F andCortinovis,
  C.2011.‘Toxicologicaleffects
  of aflatoxinsin horses’.The
  VeterinaryJournal. 188(3):270 -

3. 10.1016/j.tvjl.2010.06.002.

• DrMacis anacademic,a practising
  equineveterinariananda studowner.
  Emailherat farmersweekly@caxton.
  co.za.Subjectline:Horses. ▪FW

T

heFoodandAgriculture

Organizationofthe

UnitedNationshas

recentlybeendistributingrapid

testsforanalysisofcereals

andgrainsusedforhuman

andanimalconsumption

indevelopingcountriesto

detectaflatoxins.It is a simple

testthatcanbeusedatfarm

level,andis reportedlybeing

suppliedtosmall-scalefarmers

inZimbabweandTanzania.

Aflatoxinsaremycotoxins

thatareproducedbytwofungi,

namelyAspergillusflavusand

A.parasiticus, whichgrowon

groundnuts,maize,treenuts,

soyabeanandotherplant-derived

ingredientsinanimalfeeds.

AflatoxinB1is a powerful

hepatocarcinogenandis

knowntocauselivercancerin

children.Assuch,it is strictly

monitoredinhumanfood.

Livestockfeedmanufacturers

arefairlycompliantwithregards

tomeasuringaflatoxinsasthey

canbetransmittedthroughmilk

andeggs.Severetoxiceffectson

dogshavebeenobserved,and

outbreakswithhighmortality

rateshavebeendescribeddue

tohighlevelsofaflatoxinindog

food.Thearticle,‘Acomparative

analysisofmycotoxin

contaminationofsupermarket

andpremiumbrandpelleteddog

foodinDurban,SouthAfrica’,

publishedintheJournalof the

SouthAfricanVeterinaryAssociation

in2017,saidthatall 20 samples

ofdogfoodsampledinthe

studycontainedmorethanthe

10 ppballowedintermsofthe

FarmFeedsandFertilizersAct.

Whilethepresenceandeffects

ofaflatoxininhorsefeedare

notwelldescribedinliterature,

it is beginningtoattractthe

attentionofhorseowners.

aflatoxinpoisoning

Theclinicalsignsofacute

aflatoxinpoisoninginhorsesare

fairlyeasytoobserveassudden

deathfollowscolic,bloodyfaeces

andbleedingfromthenostrils.

Severalhorsesusuallydieatthe

sametime.Theseacutecases

showsevereliverdamageon

postmortem.However,chronic

effectsofaflatoxinpoisoningare

noteasilyrecognisedandcan

beconfusedwitha numberof

otherdiseases.Theyincludepoor

appetite,weightloss,depression,

coughing,yellowmucous

membranes,reducedimmunity

andbrownurine.Somehorses

alsohavetremorsanda lossof

balance.Bloodtestsshowhigh

liverenzymesandanaemia,but

thismayalsooccurininfectious

diseasescarriedbyticks.Horses

withheavyburdensofintestinal

parasitessuchasbots,tapeworms

androundwormsorliverfluke

mayalsopresentwithhigh

liverenzymesandanaemia.

prevention

Aspergillusmouldsgrowin

thepresenceofmoisture.

Forthisreason,keephorse

feeddryandstoreit indoors.

If therearehardlumpsin

ABOVE:

Asaflatoxinsare

producedbyfungi

thatgrowonmaize,

soyabeanand

groundnuts,ensure

thathorsefeedis

keptdryandstored

indoors.Aflatoxin

poisoningcan

resultin death.

PIXABAY

DrmAc

Aflatoxins can cause

severe liver damage and

may result in death, says

Dr Mac. As such, proper

feed storage is crucial.

Preventing aflatoxin poisoning

23 august 2019 farmer’sweekly 45