The effect of dietary aflatoxin on wild turkey poults

Aflatoxins, toxic metabolites of Aspergillus flavus or Aspergillus parasiti cus, cause poor feed utilization, decreased weight gains, depressed immune function, liver dysfunction, coagulation abnormalities, and death in a wide variety of species including humans. Conservationists have become concerne d that increasingly popular wildlife feeding or baiting practices could exp ose wildlife to toxic amounts of aflatoxin-contaminated grains. In particul ar, the effects of aflatoxins on the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopova silve stris) are of concern because the conspecific domestic turkey is highly sus ceptible to aflatoxins. To evaluate the effect of dietary aflatoxin on wild turkeys, four groups of 4-mo-old wild turkeys were fed diets containing ei ther 0, 100, 200, or 400 mu g aflatoxin/kg feed for 2 wk in September and O ctober 1996. Aflatoxin-fed poults had decreased feed consumption and weight gains as compared with control poults. Decreased liver-to-body weight rati os, liver enzyme alterations, slightly altered blood coagulation patterns, and mild histologic changes indicated low-level Liver damage. Compromise of cell-mediated immunity was indicated by decreased lymphoblast transformati on. The effects were apparent in all treatment groups td variable levels, b ut significant differences most often were found at 400 mu g aflatoxin/kg f eed. This study shows that short-term aflatoxin ingestion by wild turkeys c an induce undesirable physiologic changes; therefore, exposure of wild turk eys to feeds containing aflatoxin levels of 100 mu g aflatoxin/kg feed or m ore should be avoided.