Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis versus bacteremia strains: Subtle genetic differences at stake.

Infective endocarditis (IE)((1)) is a severe condition complicating 10-25% of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. Although host-related IE risk factors have been identified, the involvement of bacterial features in IE complication is still unclear. We characterized strictly defined IE and bacteremia isolates and searched for discriminant features.