Kocuria kristinae, a Rare Agent in Community-Acquired Infective Endocarditis: Two Case Reports

Kocuria species are facultative, catalase-positive, coagulase-negative, gram-positive cocci belonging to family Micrococcaceae, suborder Micrococcineae, order Actinomycetales. Besides being widely distributed in nature, Kocuria spp are found in normal flora of the skin, mucous membrane and oropharaynx of human beings. In the literature, reported infections caused by Kocuria species are scanty. Among the etiologic agents of infective endocarditis, endocarditis due to Kocuria species is also very rarely reported. Here, we present two cases of community-acquired infective endocarditis with native valve involvement caused by Kocuria kristinae as the etiological agent