Scientists at the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad have identified a bacterium in birds that pose serious health risks to humans. The threat was revealed by Dr Zahid Hussain, who completed his Ph.D. in the department of Veterinary Pathology under the supervision of Dr Zargham Khan.
The scientists have identified Aflatoxins (AF) as a bacteria which is ingested by birds and accumulates in their tissues, organs and eggs. If this enters into the human food chain, it can cause cancer and other major health concerns. These toxins are not affected by dry heating at up to 160 degrees Celsius or by steam heating and therefore cannot be eliminated through proper cooking.
Aflatoxins (AF) frequently contaminate agricultural products and by-products, including feed and feed ingredients during storage particularly under hot and humid conditions. Hussain said that in Pakistan, there was poor awareness of the harmful affects of Aflatoxins and that AF contamination was a problem for feed mill owners and farmers. He added that AF damaged food grains, cereal grains, oilseeds cake and their products especially corn and its by-products.
The scientist referred to reports that the incidence of AF in broken rice, corn grains, corn gluten feed and cottonseed cake was found to be 60, 25, 25 and 23 percent respectively. Researchers in Pakistan reported Aflatoxin B1 as a major problem for poultry feed, reporting its level as high as 84.70 percent in feed samples. This toxicity in poultry birds results in a decrease of meat and egg production due to reduction in feed efficiency, decreased hatchability, immunosuppression, and hepatotoxicosis.
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