EN
The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of transgenesis on the animal health status, morbidity rate and course of diseases in a herd of transgenic pigs during 6 years of observation. It was evaluated 378 potentially transgenic pigs with the human α-1,2 fucosyltransferase gene, born after artificial insemination. One of the parents was transgenic and the other non-transgenic. Molecular verification of transgenesis was performed in all piglets. Piglets with positive molecular verification were the experimental group (n = 150), and the other, non-transgenic piglets were the control group (n = 228). In the transgenic group, was diagnosed 43 sick animals (28.7%). Their mortality rate was high: out of the 43 sick animals, 24 (55.81%) died of disease, which accounted for 16.0% of the total population of transgenic animals. Recovery was observed in 19 out of the 43 sick animals (44.19%). Out of 228 non-transgenic animals, 55 suffered from disease (24.12%). Twenty-seven of them (49.9%) died of disease, which constituted 11.5% of the whole non-transgenic population. Twenty-eight animals (50.9%) recovered. Transgenesis had no negative influence on the health, morbidity or mortality of animals. A comparison of transgenic and non-transgenic siblings in the same litters reveals that the observed differences are due to reasons other than transgenesis. The most important potential cause is extensive inbreeding.