Mycotoxins and Salmonella in Poultry Production: A One Health Assessment of Co-occurrence, Risk Factors and Food Safety in Ethiopia

Korte beschrijving

Mycotoxin exposure and Salmonella contamination remain major public health and food safety challenges worldwide, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions where poultry production often operates under resource-limited conditions. These hazards contribute substantially to economic losses and pose serious threats to poultry health as well as to consumers of poultry products. Ethiopia represents a high-risk setting, characterized by a rapidly expanding poultry sector alongside persistent constraints related to feed quality, biosecurity, and disease control. Within this context, the overall aim of this doctoral research was to generate an integrated understanding of the occurrence, drivers, and consequences of mycotoxin contamination and Salmonella infection in Ethiopian poultry production systems, with a particular focus on Jimma town and its surroundings. To achieve this aim, the research combined systematic evidence synthesis, field-based epidemiological assessments, farmer surveys, advanced analytical method development, and comprehensive exposure and risk characterization.