Drug-Resistant Bacteria Found on International Space Station Toilet
The bacteria do not currently pose a risk to astronauts, but that could change as the microbes adapt to their environment
By Brigit Katz
November 29, 2018
Health officials have for some time been worried about “superbugs,†or microorganisms—like bacteria, viruses and parasites—that develop resistance to medications, rendering them difficult to treat. And superbugs may not only be a problem here on Earth. According to Chase Purdy of Quartz, a new study of bacteria on board the International Space Station found five strains with characteristics of drug resistance.
As part of an ongoing effort to learn more about the microbes that astronauts are exposed to while in orbit, researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) analyzed 105 bacterial strains sampled from various spots around the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015. Five of these bacteria were found to be strains of Enterobacter, which is known to cause a variety of infections in humans. Enterobacter strains have also developed resistance to multiple drugs.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/drug-resistant-bacteria-found-space-station-toilet-180970920/
