Association of high levels of serum antibody to staphylococcal toxic shock antigen with nasal carriage of toxic shock antigen-producing strains of Staphylococcus aureus.

Forty-four asymptomatic male subjects were examined for their nasal carriage of strains of Staphylococcus aureus capable of producing staphylococcal toxic shock antigen (TSA), an exotoxin implicated in the pathogenesis of toxic shock syndrome. In addition, the levels of antibody to TSA in sera from these subjects were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. S. aureus was isolated from the anterior nares of 23 subjects. Of those 23 isolates of S. aureus, 9 were found to produce TSA. All individuals carrying strains of S. aureus capable of producing TSA had high to moderate levels of antibody to TSA. In contrast, those individuals carrying strains not producing TSA had levels of antibody to TSA ranging from high to nondetectable. A second examination of nasal samples from 42 of these subjects revealed that 86% of those carrying S. aureus initially still carried S. aureus after a period of 3 months; all subjects found to carry TSA-producing strains initially and that were examined a second time yielded TSA-producing strains once again.