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The International Space Station (ISS) should be as clean a place as possible, because to ensure the health of astronauts, it is necessary to maintain strict control over environmental conditions. However, an unwanted guest has recently been discovered in the ISS. Specifically, strains of an antibiotic-resistant bacterium have been identified in samples taken in the toilets and in the exercise area of the space station.
Although in the beginning, this, instead of being serious, represents an opportunity. to badyze the life of microorganisms in space, in the long term, the uncontrolled presence of bacteria in the space station could represent a risk for their crew.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are found on the International Space Station
. The human body is full of beneficial microorganisms in general. These bacteria follow us wherever we go. In fact, whatever the method of sterilization used, it is impossible to eradicate the bacterium in its entirety; not even in a spaceship. In this way, it is not surprising to find some of these microorganisms in the ISS.
However, it is a totally different environment than one could find on planet Earth. In this sense, it is characterized by the presence of microgravity and space radiation, as well as by high levels of carbon dioxide; all of this could affect how bacteria live and spread.
In order to keep control of these conditions, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory microbiologists periodically badyze samples of bacteria they collect from the ISS; The goal is to determine if the conditions of space affect in any way the functioning of the bacteria and if they could affect in any way the health of astronauts.
In doing so, the researchers discovered three strains belonging to a species of bacteria. called Enterobacter bugandensis. To do this, genetic characterization methods were applied to a series of samples taken from the space station, from which it was found that the bacteria present on site were genetically similar to three newly identified strains on Earth.
threatens the health of astronauts
More specifically, they discovered the presence of a bacterium called Enterobacter bugandensis, which resulted in complications of many people on the planet. The Earth However, until now, none of the astronauts have been affected by the bacteria and therefore pose no immediate danger.
Nevertheless, in the future, this could become a threat. After badyzing the antibiotic resistance capacity of these strains, it was found that the bacteria were resistant to cephalizone, cefoxitin, oxacillin, penicillin and rifampin. In addition, the strains showed different degrees of resistance to the rest of the available antibiotics.
The researchers concluded that, even though the bacteria had not been pathogenic at the moment, they were 79%. probabilities that cause diseases. In fact, it was observed that the bacteria present in the ISS had 112 genes in common with the clinical strains badyzed on Earth likely to threaten the space station team.
Finally, the researchers note that investigations are needed. more exhaustive in order to prevent any diseases affecting the health of astronauts in the ISS. In addition, other studies have been proposed to evaluate the effect of environmental conditions on the quality of the bacterium on the space station.
Reference: Multidrug Resistant Multidrug-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from the International Space Station Genomic badyzes with pathogenic strains for humans, (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-018-1325-2
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