Lactaid and Aspergillosis

[BirdField]

Hello, I know I haven't posted recently but I was just looking into lactaid-like medications (because I'm lactose intolerant) and I read that Lactaid and several other medications often have things that are produced by an aspergillus fungi. In Lactaid in particular I read that they use aspergillus fungi to produce the lactase in the pills. Many people allergic to the fungi often have allergic reactions to medications that contain the products of aspergillus as well, which is why I am concerned.

I was wondering if this could possibly cause a problem with a bird. I know it seems silly but I was thinking about how aspergillosis is airborne and I was wondering if even having Lactaid in the house or on my breath could cause any potential problems. Of course I would never let any bird anywhere near the medicine cabinet but I was wondering if just having it around could possibly cause a risk? I'm not sure if any of you can really answer this definitely either, it's a bit of a strange question. I feel like this is quite a silly question but I'm wanting to be as cautious as possible in my research about things we have around the house.

 

[Mizzely]

Interesting question. I use Lactaid occasionally as I'm also lactose intolerant. The tablets are individually sealed up. My gut says that the bird would need to inhale some of the pill or ingest them to have even a chance of having an impact.

 

[Mizzely]

I also saw this list which further makes me feel as though its fine. For example, I've eaten and fed many foods with citric acid (it's even in most baby foods)

PRODUCTS OF ASPERGILLUS FERMENTATION:

SOY SAUCE

CHOCOLATE that includes chocolate liquor

TEA (BLACK)

MALT EXTRACT (MOST CEREALS)

LACTAID (MILK ADDITIVE)

SOME VITAMINS - SOLGAR AND JARROW brands ARE SAFE; MOST ARE NOT

CITRIC ACID (A VERY COMMON FOOD ADDITIVE; NOT DERIVED FROM CITRUS FRUIT)

SOFT DRINKS (Citric acid is made with the aspergillus fermentation process)

FRUIT JUICE (COMMERCIAL-OFTEN MADE FROM MOLDY FRUIT; MANY CONTAIN MOLD ENZYMES ADDED IN PROCESSING)

DIGESTIVE ENZYMES (PANCREATIC ARE ALRIGHT), OTHERS ARE NOT

CHOLESTEROL LOWERING ENZYME

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Not lactose intolerant but want to follow cause this is interesting

 

[Hankmacaw]

There are hundreds of strains of Aspergillus fungi and, If my memory serves me right, only about four or five cause the dreaded disease. Different strains of Asper are used in many medications and food products. If you look at your bottle of Probiotic it has Aspergillus.

"Aspergillus is a group of moulds, which is found everywhere world-wide, especially in the autumn and winter in the Northern hemisphere. Aspergillus is also common in the home, including bedding. Moulds are also called filamentous fungi. Only a few of these moulds can cause illness in humans and animals. Most people are naturally immune and do not develop disease caused by Aspergillus. However, when disease does occur, it takes several forms.

The types of diseases caused by Aspergillus are varied, ranging from an allergy-type illness to life-threatening generalised infections. Diseases caused by Aspergillus are called aspergillosis. The severity of aspergillosis is determined by various factors but one of the most important is the state of the immune system of the person."

What is Aspergillus and aspergillosis? | Aspergillus & Aspergillosis Website

 

[faislaq]

I was ordering more digestive enzyme powder for the pooches (they find the weirdest things to eat around our complex so I like to keep some on hand) and saw that the one I had ordered previously had asper-everything in the ingredients!

Ingredients - Calcium sulfate, dried fermentation products of: aspergillus oryzae var., Aspergillus niger var., Bacillus subtilus var., Trichoderma longibrachiatum, pineapple, Bacillus coagulans Guaranteed Analysis Moisture (max) 10% Alpha & Beta Amylase (Aspergillus orzye) 3150 DU/g1 Protease (Aspergillus oryzae & Bacillus subtilus) 20,500 HUT/g2 Lipase (Aspergillus niger) 265 LU/g3 Cellulase (Trichonderma longibrachiatum) 110 CU/g4 Hemicellulase (Trichoderma longibrachiatum) 100 HCUg/5 Bromelain (pineapple) 20,000 FCC/g6 Bacillus coagulans (Probiotic) 600 million per gram
​

Since I only use it in the kitchen away from the birds & wash my hands after I don't think it was a problem in the past, but now we have a flier (Luv Bug) who likes to sit on my shoulder when I'm in the kitchen, I'm afraid to order that one again.

My worry now is how do I know if other brands have asper-stuff too, but just list it under different names? I think I need to keep her away when I have to give the dogs their enzymes from now on just to be safe.

 

[faislaq]

There are hundreds of strains of Aspergillus fungi and, If my memory serves me right, only about four or five cause the dreaded disease. Different strains of Asper are used in many medications and food products. If you look at your bottle of Probiotic it has Aspergillus.

"Aspergillus is a group of moulds, which is found everywhere world-wide, especially in the autumn and winter in the Northern hemisphere. Aspergillus is also common in the home, including bedding. Moulds are also called filamentous fungi. Only a few of these moulds can cause illness in humans and animals. Most people are naturally immune and do not develop disease caused by Aspergillus. However, when disease does occur, it takes several forms.

The types of diseases caused by Aspergillus are varied, ranging from an allergy-type illness to life-threatening generalised infections. Diseases caused by Aspergillus are called aspergillosis. The severity of aspergillosis is determined by various factors but one of the most important is the state of the immune system of the person."

What is Aspergillus and aspergillosis? | Aspergillus & Aspergillosis Website

Thank you for this. Hopefully I can figure out if these are good or bad.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Here are the bad ones and I can't imagine your fiding them in any consumable product - I never have.

"Aspergillosis is mostly caused by Aspergillus fumigatus but Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus glaucus,Aspergillus nidulans, and other Aspergillus species or mixed infections can play a role in the disease (Barton et al., 1992Barton, J.T., Daft, B.M., Read, D.H., Kinde, H. and Bickford, A.A. 1992. Tracheal aspergillosis in 6 1/2-week-old chickens caused by Aspergillus flavus. Avian Diseases, 36: 1081–1085.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Perelman & Kuttin, 1992Perelman, B. and Kuttin, E.S. 1992. Aspergillosis in ostriches. Avian Pathology, 21: 159–163.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Joseph, 2000Joseph, V. 2000. Aspergillosis in raptors. Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 9: 66–74.[Crossref], [Google Scholar]). The reason why A. fumigatus is the predominant species of airborne fungal infections might be that the spores are much smaller than the spores of other Aspergillus species (Richard & Thurston, 1983Richard, J.L. and Thurston, J.R.1983. Rapid hematogenous dissemination of Aspergillus fumigatus and A. flavus spores in turkey poults following aerosol exposure. Avian Diseases, 27: 1025–1033.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar])."

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03079457.2010.506210

 

[faislaq]

Here are the bad ones and I can't imagine your fiding them in any consumable product - I never have.

"Aspergillosis is mostly caused by Aspergillus fumigatus but Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus glaucus,Aspergillus nidulans, and other Aspergillus species or mixed infections can play a role in the disease (Barton et al., 1992Barton, J.T., Daft, B.M., Read, D.H., Kinde, H. and Bickford, A.A. 1992. Tracheal aspergillosis in 6 1/2-week-old chickens caused by Aspergillus flavus. Avian Diseases, 36: 1081–1085.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Perelman & Kuttin, 1992Perelman, B. and Kuttin, E.S. 1992. Aspergillosis in ostriches. Avian Pathology, 21: 159–163.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]; Joseph, 2000Joseph, V. 2000. Aspergillosis in raptors. Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 9: 66–74.[Crossref], [Google Scholar]). The reason why A. fumigatus is the predominant species of airborne fungal infections might be that the spores are much smaller than the spores of other Aspergillus species (Richard & Thurston, 1983Richard, J.L. and Thurston, J.R.1983. Rapid hematogenous dissemination of Aspergillus fumigatus and A. flavus spores in turkey poults following aerosol exposure. Avian Diseases, 27: 1025–1033.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar])."

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03079457.2010.506210

Thank you so much! I'll still keep Luv Bug away while I mix the powder into their food because it does cloud up some, but at least I can still order it.

 

[redindiaink]

aspergillus oryzae var

In Japan they call it koji. It's used to make natto which is soya beans that are fermented. It's also used to make soya sauce and miso.

Despite this, A. oryzae has been determined to be relatively safe for use in food processing because of its domestication and evolution from wild-type relatives A. flavus and A.niger, which led to an inactivation the proteins that code for its toxin pathway. The production of kojic acid in members of the Aspergillus genus was found to be strain-specific and and environmentally-based. For A. oryzae specifically, the release of the mycotoxin kojic acid could be triggered by an environment of extended fermentation, but as long as adequate precautions are taken in industrial processes, the fungi is safe. [link]

Awhile back I found it in a list of ingredients for bird food, and since Bug has had aspergillosis I did some research because I'm extra paranoid.

 

[BirdField]

Thank you for all the responses! This really helped, glad to see that other people learned more about it as well and discussed the possible issues, thanks so much for all the educated responses!

 

[MommyBird]

I had no idea! Interesting to learn all this!

 

[Clueless]

Thanks for the info @Hankmacaw

 

[jmfleish]

Fungal Toxicosis from Aspergillus comes in two different strains, A. flavus and A. parasiticus. They grow on many different crops when stored improperly, not just peanuts but most nuts (peanuts aren't actually a nut but a legume), all sorts of grains, but are found on corn especially, and can be found in our dairy as well. They are especially bad in warm, wet climates. They come from a group of chemically similar toxic fungal metabolites called mycotoxins. The symptoms include gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting and giddiness) followed by effects on the central nervous system (drowsiness, prolonged sleepiness, twitching, convulsions, blindness and paralysis).

Many people confuse this with Aspergillosis which is a respiratory disease in birds, humans, and other animals and is caused by Aspergillus fumigatus. Aspergillus fumigatus is the mold that cause Aspergillosis and most people breathe in Aspergillus spores every day without getting sick. However, people with weakened immune systems or lung diseases are at a higher risk of developing health problems due to Aspergillus fumigatus.