[Disease and depression of productivity in raising swine caused by mycotoxins].
Mycotoxins are natural substances, which are poisonous for man and animals. Mycotoxicological investigations, carried out from 1982 to 1986, showed that aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2), trichothecenes (T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, monoacetoxyscirpenol, neosolaniol and deoxynivalenol) ochratoxin A and zearalenone are to be expected in feedstuffs. Further, sclerotia of Claviceps purpurea were found in cereals repeatedly, which demonstrates that also ergot alkaloids can be found in feedstuffs. The determined toxin concentrations often do not suffice to produce the described "classic" clinical symptoms and pathological changes. On the contrary the continuous intake of small amounts leads to chronic intoxications which are characterized by loss of weight, insufficient gain in weight, fertility disorder or increased susceptibility for infectious diseases. As feedstuffs are mostly contaminated by different kinds of toxinogenic fungi and as fungal strains are frequently able to produce several mycotoxins simultaneously, it must be assumed that naturally occurring mycotoxicoses are not monocausal, but multitoxic diseases. Although we have improved analytical methods, naturally occurring mycotoxicoses still cannot always be cleared up completely.