Interaction between mycotoxins and causative agents of swine infective diseases

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi that can contaminate animal feeds at all stages of food production chain. Consumption of feed contaminated with mycotoxins may result in immunosuppression, which represents a predisposing factor for occurence of infectious diseases in livestock. The influence on immune system is of special interest in swine industry. The technology on swine farms demands frequent vaccinations, which may be a problem in the case of immunocompromised animals. The aim of this paper was evaluation of mycotoxin influence on swine farms, as secondary factors for destabilization of animals’ immunological system. Material for this research included the samples from five swine farms, where health disorders, i.e. clinical and patomorphological signs resembling the problem with infectious diseases in different swine categories, were detected. The applied research methods included: epidemiological and clinical evaluation, pathomorphological examination, laboratory testing of bacteriological and virusological tissue originating from dead animals, and microbiological feed testing in order to examine the presence of fungi and mycotoxins. The obtained results indicated the existence of positive interaction between mycotoxins and causative agents of swine infective diseases. Despite continual pharmaco- and immunoprophylaxis in swine, the health problems of bacterial ethiology (colibacilosis, enteroxemia, dysentery, pneumonia, endometritis) were detected. From an epidemiological point of view, the presence of mycotoxins in animal feed may induce a breakdown of active immunity and occurrence of disease even in properly vaccinated animals.