Detection and source tracking of Escherichia coli, harboring intimin and Shiga toxin genes, isolated from the Little Bighorn River, Montana

The Little Bighorn River flows through the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. In 2008, Escherichia coli concentrations as high as 7179MPN/100ml were detected in the river at the Crow Agency Water Treatment Plant intake site. During 2008, 2009, and 2012, 10 different serotypes of E. coli, including O157:H7, harboring both intimin and Shiga toxin genes were isolated from a popular swim site of the Little Bighorn River in Crow Agency. As part of a microbial source tracking study, E. coli strains were isolated from river samples as well as from manure collected from a large cattle feeding operation in the upper Little Bighorn River watershed; 23% of 167 isolates of E. coli obtained from the manure tested positive for the intimin gene. Among these manure isolates, 19 were identified as O156:H8, matching the serotype of an isolate collected from a river sampling site close to the cattle feeding area.