Bacteria Likely to Soon Infect ISS Crew Found to Be Antibiotic-Resistant

Although the newly researched strains bear a striking similarity to ones typically found on Earth, specifically in intensive care units in hospitals, the discovery is a wake-up call given the no-gravity conditions of their habitat and the fact that these microorganisms are unresponsive to conventional antimicrobial agents.

JPL-NASA scientists have identified a highly unwelcome guest thriving on board the International Space station - strains of Enterobacter, and what's most worrying is that these bacteria are highly resistant to antibiotics, a research paper published in the journal BMC Microbiology has it.

For the time being, the strains of Enterobacter found on the ISS have luckily been found to be not pathogenic to humans, but the mere fact of them having been spotted on the station, in the unique conditions of microgravity, at least a tad of space radiation and intensely increased carbon dioxide levels, could carry worrisome implications.

Meanwhile, human bodies have long been known to be teeming with healthy and beneficial microbes, which cannot and should not be totally eradicated since they are an effective firewall against those which pose danger.

It took three years to describe and characterise the genomes of the strains collected back in 2015. The ISS bacterial strains have notably been identified to be similar to three types found recently on Earth, potentially causing disease in newly-born children and patients with a compromised immune system, according to microbiologist Kasthuri Venkateswaran.

No imminent danger with regard to the astronauts has been revealed, since no Enterobacter-related medical conditions have been registered in orbit since the samples were collected. However, the scientists asserted that there could potentially be a hazard, since they compared their antibiotic resistance to the three clinical strains from Earth and found that they are entirely unaffected by such wide-spread antibiotics as cefazolin, cefoxitin, oxacillin, penicillin and rifampin and some others. Computer modelling suggested there is 79 percent probability that they will evolve into a human pathogen, given certain conditions.

"Whether or not an opportunistic pathogen like E. bugandensis causes disease and how much of a threat it is, depends on a variety of factors, including environmental ones," Venkateswaran noted, adding that it is no less crucial to depict how various spacecraft-related conditions and factors may affect pathogenicity and virulence in the long run.

Source: Sputnik News

Related Links
Station at NASA
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Quantum artificial life created on the cloud
Bilbao, Spain (SPX) Nov 23, 2018
A scenario of artificial intelligence could see the emergence of circumstances in which models of simple organisms could be capable of experiencing the various phases of life in a controlled virtual environment. This is what has been designed by the QUTIS research group at the UPV/EHU's Department of Physical Chemistry, but the scenario is that of quantum computers: an artificial life protocol that encodes quantum behaviours belonging to living systems, such as self-replication, mutation, interact ... read more