Exposure of garden birds to aflatoxins in Britain

Sci Total Environ. 2006 May 15;361(1-3):124-31. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.09.074. Epub 2005 Nov 3.

Abstract

Aflatoxins are potent biological toxins that have been shown to exert a range of acute and chronic pathological effects. Multiple mortality events of waterfowl caused by acute aflatoxicosis have been documented in the USA. However, international concern has recently been expressed regarding the potential effects of chronic exposure of wildlife species to low levels of dietary aflatoxin. This study documents for the first time the presence of hepatic aflatoxin residues in British wild birds: two passerine species, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and greenfinch (Carduelis chloris). Further research is required to investigate the source of the dietary aflatoxins and their pathological significance, if any, for wild birds in Britain.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aflatoxins / analysis*
  • Animals
  • Bird Diseases / epidemiology
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Epidemiological Monitoring
  • Finches*
  • Liver / chemistry
  • Salmonella Infections, Animal / epidemiology
  • Sparrows*
  • United Kingdom

Substances

  • Aflatoxins