Detection and source tracking of Escherichia coli,harboring intimin and Shiga toxin genes,isolated from the Little Bighorn River,Montana |
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Authors: | Steve Hamner Susan C Broadaway Ethan Berg Sean Stettner Barry H Pyle Nita Big Man |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Microbiology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA;2. Little Big Horn College, Crow Agency, MT, USA |
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Abstract: | The Little Bighorn River flows through the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. In 2008, Escherichia coli concentrations as high as 7179 MPN/100 ml 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. |
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Keywords: | sewage pollution river water water pollutants water-borne diseases |
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