Scheuch M, et al. - Researchers analyzed Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) carrier status, S. aureus infection rates and mortality in a cohort of 86 hemodialysis patients from an outpatient dialysis center, who were prospectively followed over 25 months. They found that colonization with S. aureus was more frequent in hemodialysis patients vs the general population. In addition, the former group exhibited both different S. aureus colonization densities as well as lineages, possibly explained by more frequent exposure to health care environments. The clonal complex 8 and the spa type t008 were detected as the most common S. aureus lineage in the dialysis patient cohort, while the clonal complex CC30 dominated in the general population. Carriers had lower overall mortality, compared to non-carriers.