Abstract:
Uganda is predominantly an agricultural country where farming employ more than 60% of the
population. Aflatoxins remain a scourge in the country, unprecedentedly reducing the value of
agricultural foods and in high enough exposure levels, implicated for hepatocellular carcinoma,
stunted growth in children and untimely deaths
. This review synthetizes the country’s major
findings in relation to the mycotoxin’s etiology, epidemiology, detection, quantification, exposure
assessment, control and reduction in different matrices. It also highlights some of the management
strategies for aflatoxin control that could be adopted in Uganda. Review results indicate that
aflatoxins in Uganda is majorly produced by
Aspergillus flavus
and
A. parasiticus
and have been
reported in maize (
Zea mays
L.), sorghum (
Sorghum bicolor
L.), sesame (
Sesamum indicum
),
beans (
Phaseolus vulgaris
L.), sunflower (
Helianthus annus
), millet (
Eleusine coracana)
, a bovine
milk
-based product, peanuts (
Arachis hypogaea
L.) and cassava (
Manihot
esculenta
) with the
highest content reported in cassava, beans and peanuts. The causes and proliferation of
aflatoxigenic contamination of Ugandan foods have been largely due to poor pre-, peri- and post-
harvest activities, poor government legislation, lack of awareness and low levels of education
among farmers, agri-entreprenuers and consumers on the plague. Aflatoxin B
is the most
prevalent aflatoxin in Uganda. There is still limited research on aflatoxins in Uganda because the
surveillance, reduction and control carry prohibitive costs. A few exposure assessments have been
done especially in human sera and dependence on
a single or a related set of foods with little diet
diversity has exacerbated the risk of exposure to aflatoxins in Uganda because most of the staple
foods are aflatoxin-prone. On the detection, control and reduction, these are still marginal, though
some devoted scholars have devised and validated a sensitive portable device for on-site aflatoxin
detection in maize as well as shown that starter cultures used for making some cereal-based
beverages have the potential to bind aflatoxins. More effort should be geared towards awareness
creation through training of farmers and traders in the cereal value chain as well as developing
capacity to monitor aflatoxins. Vaccination against Hepatitis B and Hepatitis A should be
emphasized to reduce the risk of development of liver cancer among the populace.
