Researchers have found that a strain of bacteria found in infirmary on Earth and associated with disease is also present on the International Space Station ( ISS ) .
The research from NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( JPL ) in California usher that five strains of the bacteriumEnterobacterwere found in sample taken from a john on the station and some of its exercise equipment in March 2015 .
compare the sampling on the ISS to 1,291 genomes ofEnterobacteron Earth , the team were able to narrow down which species were present , and these had been get laid to stimulate wellness problems on our satellite . The findings were published inBMC Microbiology .
“ We revealed that genomes of the five ISSEnterobacterstrains were genetically most interchangeable to three strains new found on Earth , ” Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran from JPL , the correspond generator on the field , enounce in astatement .
“ These three strains belonged to one species of the bacteria , calledEnterobacterbugandensis , which had been find to cause disease in newborn baby and a compromised patient , who were admitted to three different hospitals ( in east Africa , Washington state and Colorado ) . "
By comparing the melody on the ISS to those on Earth , the researcher also wanted to retrieve out if those on the station usher signs of antimicrobial impedance . And they found that they did show some multi - drug resistance , which could have some issues .
“ [ T]hese species potentially gravel important health considerations for future missions , ” Dr Nitin Singh , the subject area ’s tip author , read in the statement . “ However , it is significant to understand that the tenor found on the ISS were not virulent , which mean they are not an participating terror to human wellness , but something to be monitored . "
While not immediately dangerous to the humans on board , the researchers did note there was a 79 per centum probability that they could cause disease . But they noted further studies were needed to see what impact the conditions on the ISS , including being in microgravity , had on the bacteria .
This is n’t the first time we ’ve heard about bacterium on the ISS . Last year , astronauts claimed to have bump bacterialiving outsidethe station – although that was later shown to have been belike carried up by a ballistic capsule . And researchers have been using tools on board the station toidentify microbesin place .
But the effect of disease is an authoritative one for future mission . If humans are run short to travel far beyond Earth , with no chance of visit a Doctor of the Church back home , we ’ll need to verify they have few fortune of enchant some kind of disease that could put the mission in jeopardy . crop out what bacteria can grow on the place is a key part of that .
