Clinical profile and strain relatedness of recurrent enterococcal bacteremia.

We defined the molecular epidemiology of recurrent enterococcal bacteremia using pulsed field gel electrophoresis. We identified 27 patients, comprising 60 episodes; strain relatedness was demonstrated in 8 patients with isolates separated by up to 6 y. Carriage of pathogenic enterococci may be prolonged, although re-infection with novel strains is more commonly seen.