Bear bites can breed infection

When someone is mauled by a bear, Kalispell Regional Medical Center calls in Dr. Larry Iwersen.

An orthopedic surgeon, Iwersen has studied bacterial growth in the mouths and claws of bears for nearly 20 years.

"Bears have lots of things in their mouths" that humans don't want transmitted to their bodies, Iwersen said. They root around and dine on dead things, their mouths a virtual hotbed of germs.

"The bacteria could be quite pathogenic if it flourishes" in a bite or scratch, Iwersen said.

Even though bear-inflicted wounds are fertile grounds for dangerous infections, no mauling victim brought to the Kalispell hospital has had a long-term infection, to the credit of Iwersen and others.

Bites are of particular concern, Iwersen said.

Often a bear's bottom teeth and top teeth will connect when they pierce through skin from different locations. It's not always apparent that the bite has completely penetrated, but it's essential that tissue "be cleaned out a special way."

The minute a mauling victim comes through the hospital door, Iwersen is collecting samples for bacterial cultures to find out what kind of medication will best protect against whatever that bear happens to be carrying.

That can be fine-tuned later, he said, but immediate protection against infection is protection against potentially fatal complications later.

Patient confidentiality laws restrict health-care providers from discussing specific injuries and treatment. In general terms, though, Iwersen is able to say that Thursday's mauling of a man in Glacier Park was "as bad as I've seen."