Contamination of food and feed with
mycotoxins is a worldwide problem. At present, acute
mycotoxicosis caused by high doses is rare in humans and animals. Ingestion of low to moderate amounts of Fusarium
mycotoxins is common and generally does not result in obvious intoxication. However, these low amounts may impair intestinal health, immune function and/or pathogen fitness, resulting in altered host pathogen interactions and thus a different outcome of
infection. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about the impact of Fusarium
mycotoxin exposure on human and animal host susceptibility to
infectious diseases. On the one hand, exposure to
deoxynivalenol and other Fusarium
mycotoxins generally exacerbates
infections with parasites, bacteria and viruses across a wide range of animal host species. Well-known examples include
coccidiosis in poultry,
salmonellosis in pigs and mice, colibacillosis in pigs, necrotic
enteritis in poultry, enteric
septicemia of catfish, swine respiratory disease,
aspergillosis in poultry and rabbits,
reovirus infection in mice and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus
infection in pigs. However, on the other hand,
T-2 toxin has been shown to markedly decrease the colonization capacity of Salmonella in the pig intestine. Although the impact of the exposure of humans to Fusarium toxins on
infectious diseases is less well known, extrapolation from animal models suggests possible exacerbation of, for instance, colibacillosis and
salmonellosis in humans, as well.