Results
Fifty percent of the CRSwNP group had deletion of the hld gene which may promote small colony variant formation or reduced enterotoxin production, and seventy-five percent expressed virulence genes associated with invasive disease. The CRSwNP isolate had a superior ability to localise intracellularly at 6 and 9 hours and showed a higher burden of S. aureus colony forming units at 24 hours.