SEVERE HEPATOPATHY IN GEESE AND BROILERS ASSOCIATED WITH OCHRATOXIN IN THEIR FEED

The feeding of a shipment of imported corn was associated with a sever e reduction in growth and increased mortality in geese, and increased mortality in broilers. Pathological examinations revealed hepatopathy, visceral gout and mild nephropathy in geese, and in broilers an hepat opathy, which was often severe, and ascites. Samples of feed from affe cted geese farms were examined for up to 24 mycotoxins, and ochratoxin was found in 6 of 15 samples at levels up to 930 ng/g. The syndrome w as experimentally reproduced by feeding geese and broilers suspect fee ds with the natural ochratoxin contamination. It is believed that anot her, unidentified, mycotoxin was the major cause of the hepatotoxicity , and that ochratoxin served in this case as an indicator of a multi-m ycotoxin involvement.