Abstract
Aflatoxin, the secondary toxic metabolite of Aspergillus species, particularly aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus and parasiticus, has a detrimental effect on poultry health and production. There exists some information gap about the magnitudes of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species and aflatoxin in poultry feeds in the study area. Thus, the study was conducted to estimate the magnitude and assess the related potential factors of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species with evaluations of the level of aflatoxin B1 in stored poultry feed at selected farms in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study design was carried out on 374 poultry feed samples recruited by using a stratified simple random sampling technique. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to assess the level of knowledge and prevention practices associated with aflatoxin in poultry feed. The isolation of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species was made by Aspergillus flavus parasiticus media, and aflatoxin B1 was estimated by aflatoxin B1 enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay. Results showed that the magnitude of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species was 72.5% (95% CI: 67.6–76.9). The odds at which the species isolated were higher (p < 0.05) in feeds stored more than two months (AOR = 2.69), the presence of rodents in the storing room (AOR = 2.67), feeds having high moisture content (AOR = 1.5), and feed ingredient types (AOR = 4.3) compared to their counter parts. Only 34.4 and 32.8 percent of the respondents have better knowledge and apply prevention practice about fungal contamination and aflatoxin production in poultry feed, respectively. The occurrence of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species in poultry feed was associated with the presence of rodents in the feed storing room with long storing period and high moisture contents of the feed. The knowledge and prevention practices employed by farm managers and workers about fungal contamination and aflatoxin in poultry feed are found low.
Highlights
IntroductionPoultry feed contains 60–80% grains mainly maize, rice, and wheat and their by-products
From the feed types analyzed, high magnitudes of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species contamination were shown in the mixed feeds (81.7%) whereas low magnitudes were seen in wheat bran (35.6%)
Fungal contamination in poultry feed was associated with the presence of rodents in the feed storing room, longer storing period, and high moisture contents of the feed. e highest rate of fungal contamination was observed in maize followed by soya bean and nug cake due to high soluble sugar in maize and high lipid content in soya bean and nug cake, whereas the lowest rate was found in wheat bran associated with its low moisture content and poor nutritional composition as compared with others
Summary
Poultry feed contains 60–80% grains mainly maize, rice, and wheat and their by-products In developing countries such as Ethiopia, the best-quality grains are used for human consumption and grains of poor quality are used as animal feeds which increases the contaminations of the feeds by the toxin. Ere is an information gap about the magnitudes of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species and the levels of AFB1 in poultry feeds in Ethiopia, but there are reports on grains such as maize, wheat, and sorghum [8] and in dairy feeds in and around Addis Ababa [9] which show high prevalence of the fungus and the toxin in the grains and feed ingredients. The term feed ingredient is used to indicate any cereal and grains such as maize, wheat bran, soya bean, nug cake, and bone and blood meal used to formulate a concentrate poultry feed. From the separate assessment questions set for knowledge and preventive practice on mould contamination and aflatoxin, those individuals who scored 50% and above of the knowledge questions and the preventive practices were considered knowledgeable and applied preventive practices, respectively
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