Q. Can you explain Deoxynivalenol Mycotoxicosis?

During 1987, an outbreak estimated to have affected over 50,000 people in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, was traced to the consumption of preparations made out of wheat products like wheat flour and refined wheat flour, barley, oats, rye, maize, sorghum and rice. The disease symptoms included pain in the stomach 10-1 5 minutes after consuming food and vomiting. The problem was diagnosed as deoxynivalenol mycotoxicosis. What caused the illness? It was found that unseasonal rains at the time of harvest of wheat had resulted in the damage to wheat by fungi like Fusarium and the production of deoxynivalenol and other mycotoxins, known as 'tricothecenes' caused the outbreak.