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

Linton, S., Hossenbaccus, L., Davis, A. et al. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol 21, 48 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13223-025-00990-3

Abstract

Clinical outcomes during nasal allergen challenge in ragweed-allergic
participants with (carriers) and without (non-carriers) nasal
Staphylococcus aureus.

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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