Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage is associated with faster symptom resolution following nasal allergen challenge in ragweed-allergic participants: a subset of the Allergic Rhinitis Microbiome Study

TL;DR

Staphylococcus aureus in the nose may help reduce allergy symptoms faster after an allergen challenge in ragweed-allergic individuals.

Contribution

This study shows that nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus is linked to faster symptom resolution in ragweed allergy.

Findings

S. aureus carriers had smaller reductions in nasal airflow at 3 and 5 hours post-challenge.

Carriers reported lower symptom scores at 48 hours compared to non-carriers.

No significant difference was observed in the initial response within the first three hours.

Abstract

In this letter, we report that ragweed-allergic participants with nasal Staphylococcus aureus carriage (n = 7) exhibited significantly smaller reductions in Peak Nasal Inspiratory Flow from baseline at 3 h (P = 0.013) and 5 h (P = 0.008) post–nasal allergen challenge compared to non-carriers (n = 12). There was no significant difference between carriers and non-carriers in the initial response within the first three hours following the challenge (all P > 0.05). Carriers also reported significantly lower Total Nasal Symptom Scores (P = 0.015) and Total Rhinoconjunctivitis Symptom Scores (P = 0.021) at 48 h. These findings suggest that S. aureus carriage does not exacerbate allergic responses and may instead be associated with more rapid symptom resolution.

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