Ochratoxin A in human blood in relation to Balkan endemic nephropathy and urinary system tumours in Bulgaria.

In continuing the effort to provide further evidence for the hypothesis that ochratoxin A might be involved in the aetiology of Balkan endemic nephropathy and the associated urinary system tumours, a survey to determine the occurrence of ochratoxin A in human blood was conducted in affected and unaffected areas of Bulgaria, where both diseases are prevalent. Ochratoxin A, positive samples, were present more often in blood from affected patients and the contamination levels were generally higher.