Aflatoxin Poisoning in Animals

Laurie Anne Walden, DVM

On January 11, 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert about certain Sportmix pet foods recalled because of high levels of aflatoxin. At the time of the alert, 70 dogs had died and more than 80 were sick (not all of them officially confirmed as having aflatoxin poisoning).[1]
 
Other pet foods have been recalled in the past because of aflatoxin. For a list of foods included in the current recall, see the FDA alert: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-alert-certain-lots-sportmix-pet-food-recalled-potentially-fatal-levels-aflatoxin
 
Cause
Aflatoxins are produced by molds (Aspergillus species) that grow on grains like corn. Animals are exposed by eating contaminated animal diets or moldy corn, peanuts, or other foods. Food doesn’t have to look moldy to be contaminated with aflatoxins.
 
Because commercial dog food is typically the main component of a dog’s diet and dogs usually eat from a single bag of food until it’s finished, even low levels of aflatoxin in the food can accumulate in the body and cause symptoms.[2]
 
Symptoms
The liver is the main organ affected. Liver damage causes nonspecific digestive tract symptoms. Severe liver damage reduces the ability of the blood to clot and can lead to central nervous system problems. Death occurs quickly in some animals with aflatoxin poisoning. Symptoms include the following:

• No symptoms, especially in early stages
• Listlessness
• Loss of appetite
• Vomiting
• Jaundice (yellow tint to the whites of the eyes, gums, or skin)
• Blood in vomit or stool
• Tarry black stool
• Coma
• Death

 
Diagnosis
The symptoms of aflatoxin poisoning aren’t specific and could have a number of causes. Diagnosis begins with history, physical examination, and blood and urine tests. If test results show liver damage and a toxin is suspected, the next step is obtaining a complete history of everything the animal has been exposed to, including all foods and treats. Food samples and possibly tissue samples from the body can be sent to a laboratory to test for aflatoxin.
 
Treatment
Treatment consists of supportive care and management of problems (like blood clotting disorders) caused by liver failure. Specific treatment depends on the individual patient’s needs.
 
What You Should Do
The FDA recommends that pet owners take these steps:

• Contact your veterinarian right away if your pet has symptoms of aflatoxin poisoning or has eaten a recalled food.
• Stop feeding recalled food (or food that you suspect might be contaminated) immediately.
• If you or your veterinarian thinks your pet might have aflatoxin poisoning, make a list of everything your pet has eaten. Save samples of food for testing.
• Save food packaging or a photo of the label, including the lot number and best-by date, even if you usually transfer your pet food to another container. See this FDA page about the importance of saving lot numbers: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/save-your-pet-food-lot-number
  
• Discard recalled food in a way that will keep children, pets, and wild animals from coming in contact with it. (Don’t just dump it outside.)
• Wash your hands after handling pet food. However, the FDA says there’s no evidence that people who handle contaminated food are at risk of aflatoxin poisoning themselves.[1,3]

 
See this FDA page for information about reporting possible problems with pet food: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/report-problem/how-report-pet-food-complaint
 
Watch for pet food recall alerts in the news and on social media. The FDA posts recalls on the FDA Recalls Twitter account: https://twitter.com/FDArecalls
 
References
1. FDA alert: certain lots of Sportmix pet food recalled for potentially fatal levels of aflatoxin. US Food and Drug Administration. Updated January 11, 2021. Accessed January 22, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-alert-certain-lots-sportmix-pet-food-recalled-potentially-fatal-levels-aflatoxin
2. Martínez-Martínez L, Valdivia-Flores AG, Guerrero-Barrera AL, Quezada-Tristán T, Rangel-Muñoz EJ, Ortiz-Martínez R. Toxic effect of aflatoxins in dogs fed contaminated commercial dry feed: a review. Toxins (Basel). 2021;13(1):E65. doi:10.3390/toxins13010065
3. Aflatoxin poisoning in pets. US Food and Drug Administration. Updated January 8, 2021. Accessed January 22, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/aflatoxin-poisoning-pets
 
Photo by Jornada Produtora

---