Bacteriology of a bear bite wound to a human: Case report

Human contact with bears has become more frequent, as has the resultant bear maulings and bite injuries. We report the bacteriology of a patient bitten by a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) from the Rocky Mountains foothills area east of Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. The patient received field care, including metronidazole and cefazolin. Subsequent deep-wound cultures grew Serratia fonticola, Serratia marcescens, Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus cereus, and Enterococcus durans but no anaerobes.