Bulgaria Balkan nephropathy

The initial description of Balkan nephropathy emanated from Bulgaria [15,16] and Serbia [17-19]. By 1957, the disease was recognized in Bosnia and Croatia and by 1958 in Romania [20]. 

T Petkova-Bocharova, M Castegnaro, J Michelon, V Mara. Ochratoxin A and other mycotoxins in cereals from an area of Balkan endemic nephropathy and urinary tract tumors in Bulgaria. In M Castegnaro, R Plestina, G Dirheimer, IN Chernozemskj, H Bartsch, eds. Mycotoxins, Endemic Nephropathy and Urinary Tract Tumors. Lyon IARC Scientific Publications, 1991, pp 83-87. 

Although the role of ochratoxins in human pathogenesis is stiU speculative, the lesions of nephropathy in humans were reported to be similar to those observed in porcine nephropathy [104]. Outbreaks of kidney disease (Balkan endemic nephropathy) in rural populations in Bulgaria, Romania, Tunisia and the former Yugoslavia were associated with ochratoxin A [104—106]. These correlations were... 

Petkova-Bocharova T, Castegnaro M Ochratoxin A contamination of cereals in an area of high incidence of Balkan endemic nephropathy in Bulgaria. Food Addit Contam 1985 2 267-270. 

Ochratoxins (Table 6.2, Figure 6.4) are another important group of mycotoxins mainly produced by Aspergillus ochraceus, or in some instances by Penicillium ver-rucosum. Ochratoxicosis produces the Balkan endemic nephropathy first described in Bulgaria. Chemically, ochratoxins are isocoumarin derivatives bound to phenylalanine. The most common and relevant is ochratoxin A or OTA. Most ochratoxicosis is related to field-contaminated maize dne to excess rainfall before harvesting or... 

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