Contents: 1. The impact of aflatoxins of poultry industry/P.V. Rao. 2. Progress towards biosynthetic rationale of aflatoxin pathways/Sashidhar Rao. 3. Important lesser known toxic fungi in feed - an update/M.A. Sattar. 4. Ochratoxin A in biological systems and its analysis/S.M. Reddy. 5. Genetic differences for susceptibility of aflatoxins in poultry/S.C. Mohapatra. 6. Trichothecenes and poultry diseases/S.M. Reddy. 7. Pathology of food-borne mycotoxin in poultry/S.M. Mohiuddin. 8. Possibilities and limitations of diagnosis of mycotoxicosis/A. Rajan. 9. The influence of dietary protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and antibiotics on aflatoxicosis in poultry/V.R. Reddy. 10. Aflatoxin in feed stuffs and its effect on the performance of chicken, Quail and Guinea fowl/V.R. Sadagopan. 11. Effect of dietary aflatoxin on the performance of commercial and broiler chicken/A. Rajesekhar Reddy. 12. Mycotoxicosis of less common occurrence in chicken/A. Rajan. 13. Micotoxic nephropathy/S.M. Mohiuddin. 14. Influence of mycotoxins in outbreaks of coccidiosis in poultry/P. Padmavathi. 15. Toxic synergism between aflatoxin and ochratoxin in poultry/P. Ramo Rao. 16. Molecular aspects of aflatoxin B1 in mutagenicity, teratogenicity and carcinogenicity/A. Janardhan. 17. Histopathological and biochemical changes in ochratoxicosis in poultry (broilers and commercials)/M. Vikram Reddy. 18. Aspergilosis infection and aflatoxicosis in poultry feed and its correlation with various disease problems in poultry farms/D. Mahendranath. 19. Aflatoxicosis and immunoresponse in poultry/S.M. Mohiuddin. 20. Pathogeni mould in poultry diseases/B.K. Panda. 21. Aflatoxicosis in poultry/S.P. Arora. 22. Mycotoxins: an overview of their importance, prevention and control/Ramesh V. Bhat. 23. Factors affecting toxin production by fungi and its control/Annapuran Jetty. 24. The role of aflatoxin in human health/S.M. Mohiuddin. 25. Simple methods of aflatoxins detection/S. Vasanthi. 26. Fungal hepatitis in poultry: a note/Shaik Meera Mohiuddin. 27. Moulds and mycotoxins in poultry diseases/Shaik Meera Mohiuddin. 28. Studies on the effects of aflatoxin on antibody synthesis against Rankikhet disease vaccine in chicks/Shaik Meera Mohiuddin, D. Mahendranath, B. Yadgiri and S.R. Ahmed. 29. Note on the effects of aflatoxin on the testis in poultry/Shaik Meera Mohiuddin. 30. Studies on phagocyteic activity and haematological changes in aflatoxicosis in poultry/S.M. Mohiuddin, M. Virkram, Reddy, M. Madahva Reddy and K. Ramakrishna. 31. Effect of dietary aflatoxin on the development of immunity against newcastle disease virus in chicken/A. Nageswara Rao, V. Ravindra A. Reddy, P.V. Rao, B.J. Sharma and S.M. Mohiuddin. 32. Nutrition mycotoxicosis and its control/S.M. Mohiuddin. 33. Pathology of food-borne mycotoxins in poultry/S.M. Mohiuddin and R. Sreenath Reddy. 34. Mycotoxins and poultry health hazards in India/S.M. Mohiuddin. 35. Mycotoxicosis and its control/S.M. Mohiuddin. 36. Effects of aflatoxin on immune response in viral disease/S.M. Mohiuddin. 37. Handling mycotoxin contaminated feedstuff/S.M. Mohiuddin. 38. An overview of mycotoxicosis/S.M. Mohiuddin. Index.

    "During the last three decades poultry production has made a tremendous progress. The improved layer population have exceeded a million during 1961 to 67 million in 1986, which resulted in increased egg production from 360 million to 1425 million. Similarly the broiler production have achieved tremendous increase from 4 millions 1971 to 95 millions during 1986. This transition of poultry farming from a backyard rearing to a large-scale intensive poultry rearing with investment running into millions of rupees is due to embarking upon large scale import of germplasm and technical know how. However, during recent years the growth is not as high as it was for many unknown diseases have been faced by the poultry. 

    The recent years have shown that mycosis and mycotoxicosis have been assuming considerable importance in aetiology of many unknown diseases in poultry. The fungi are ubiquitous in nature and there are frequent opportunities available in our Indian agro-climatic conditions of their growth during harvest and storage to elaborate their toxin. The problem of mycotoxicosis in the health of human and livestock has assumed a much importance, only after the outbreak of Turkey X disease during 1960.

    The heavy economic losses faced by the poultry industry either by death of birds or by production losses is due to the feeding of mouldy feed. The mycotoxicosis is also responsible for bruising in broilers thus lowering the carcass value, immuno-suppressive effects. Increase in the requirement of certain nutrients leading to deficiency syndrome, and finally the toxic metabolites are excreted through meat and eggs leading to human health hazards.