In other, cause and effect are less certain. The most important disease which may have been due to mycotoxins, are reviewed briefly below. Ergotism Ergotism occurred throughout the past thousand years in central Europe, and has certainly killed many thousands of people. The fact that it was caused by a fungus has been known for a long time, since at least 1750. The fungus, Claviceps purpurea, grows in the ovaries of grains, especially rye, and the resulting sclerotia, called argots, are difficult to separate from normal grain at milling, and become dispersed in flour made from the grain.
Ergotism causes constrictions in blood vessels leading to the hands and feet.
The toxins in argots are now known to be alkaloids, some of which find use in pharmaceuticals. The last outbreak of ergotism in Europe occurred in 1954. Alimentary toxic aleukia ATA caused the deaths of many thousands of people in the USSR, especially in the Orenburg District around the Caspian Sea, from 1942 to 1948. Records show that ATA was also prevalent in earlier years. ATA is an exceptionally nasty disease, causing fever, bleeding from the skin, nose, throat and gums, necrosis, and suppression of the immune system.