2011 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) Long term goal is to reduce the zoonotic transmission of food-borne pathogens in pork. The overall research objective of this proposal is to fill a critical information gap regarding the epidemiology of shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) shedding in swine. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) The approach is phenotypic and genotypic characterization of STEC isolates from longitudinally sampled swine. 3.Progress Report A method based on screening swine fecal enrichments for the genes encoding for STEC Shiga toxins and the intimin membrane protein by the polymerase chain reaction followed by isolation of the STEC strains from the samples was used. The strains were confirmed as STEC, and they will be characterized to determine the presence of additional virulence genes. This research will provide useful information to determine if swine are a reservoir for STEC and will help to reduce the zoonotic transmission of these pathogens.