EN
The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence of Lawsonia intracellularis in a population of healthy pigs and to determine the section of ileum most frequently inhabited by the microorganism. The investigation covered a total number of 832 healthy finishing pigs of similar age. The body weight of individuals ranged from 90 to 120 kg. The animals did not show any symptoms of the disease and they were directed to slaughter. Samples of ileum, caecum and colon were subjected to nested PCR test for the presence of L. intracellularis. The results showed that the bacteria mainly inhabits the ileum (33.3%). The p78 genome fragment of L. intracellularis was sporadically detected in the large intestine: 8.2% in colon and 5.4% in caecum samples. This specific fragment was found in 43.1% of intestinal samples of healthy slaughter pigs from different regions of Poland. The percentage of the herds infected was established at 73.4%.