A common skin bacterium increases the risk of food allergy in children with severe eczema

In a new study published today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, scientists from King's College London found that young children with severe eczema infected with Staphylococcus aureus (SA) bacterial, present a higher risk of developing a food allergy.

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a bacterium found in the nose and skin of healthy individuals.

However, AS is more common in people with eczema, especially severe eczema.

When a person has an allergy, their immune system considers a harmless substance (such as eggs or peanuts) as an intruder and reacts excessively. Their body produces a molecule or an antibody called Immunoglobin E (IgE).

When IgE encounters the intruder on the skin or in the body, it releases chemicals, such as histamine, that cause the allergic reaction.

The team of scientists discovered that young children with severe eczema and infected with AS were producing more IgE against peanuts, eggs and milk, indicating an allergy food to each of these.

The egg allergy of these children was also more likely to persist at the age of 5 or 6 years compared to children who did not have AS.

Dr. Olympia Tsilochristou, lead author of King's College London, said, "This is important because most children with egg allergies generally outgrow this age earlier.

"We do not yet know the exact mechanisms that lead from eczema to food allergy, but our results suggest that the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus could be an important factor contributing to this result. "

These results are based on the precedents of the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy study (LEAP), which demonstrated that infants at high risk of developing peanut allergy but consuming a snack containing peanuts while on along the study were prevented allergy.

In the present study, scientists found that children with AS on the skin and / or nose were more likely to develop peanut allergy although they were fed peanuts at an older age. early under the LEAP study protocol.

The Roof Teacher, co-author, said: "These results indicate that AS may have reduced the risk that young infants will gain a tolerance to peanut even if peanut has been eaten during early childhood. "

Professor Lack, who designed and led the LEAP study, said that "AS could be considered as an additional risk factor for the development of food allergy".

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