<h5>Superbug?! ????</h5><p>What picture does the word create in your mind? A bug that wears a Superman suit and flies around saving others? Or maybe it is a bug that can shoot lasers from its eyes? Well, it’s neither.</p><p>The USA’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that superbugs are strains of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics. Each year, superbugs infect many people, harming them.</p><p>Antibiotics are widely used medicines to prevent and treat bacterial infections, like pneumonia, ear infections, etc, in humans and livestock.</p><p>These drugs don’t work against viruses, like those causing colds or flu. Still, many antibiotics are given to people and animals that are unnecessary, and their overuse and misuse help create drug-resistant bacteria. And that is how superbugs are created.</p><figure class="image"><img alt="Bacteria.jpg" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/newsahoot.appspot.com/Bacteria_41bd153fbf.jpg"><figcaption>Bacteria. Photo by Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain.</figcaption></figure><h5>Superbug found on the ISS.</h5><p>Scientists have found a superbug on surfaces within the International Space Station (ISS). The bacterial species is named Enterobacter bugandensis.</p><p>Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have joined together to study the superbug.</p><p>This finding has raised health concerns for the astronauts who are currently onboard the ISS.</p><h5>Health concerns for astronauts!</h5><p>Astronauts on the ISS, including Indian-origin astronaut <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newsahoot.com/articles/sunita-williams-does-happy-dance">Sunita Williams</a>, face an increased risk from the superbug.</p><p>This bacteria can infect the respiratory system and has adapted to the ISS’s closed environment, making it challenging to manage.</p><p>The unique conditions in space, like radiation, increased carbon dioxide levels, etc., cause pathogens to evolve rapidly.</p><p>Astronauts also face various health challenges in space due to limited access to healthcare facilities and their altered immune conditions.</p><p>So, scientists have said it is essential to study the microbes aboard the ISS to examine their impact on astronauts. They are also studying the superbug in detail to develop ways to combat it.</p><h5>How does space affect the immune system of astronauts?</h5><p>Travelling to space affects humans' immune systems. Research shows that it reduces certain bodily functions that are crucial to the immune system.</p><p>Astronauts also experience environmental changes during spaceflight and while in space, including microgravity, increased radiation, psychological stress, etc. All of these can affect their immune system negatively.</p>

The discovery of a superbug has raised concerns regarding the health of astronauts onboard the ISS.

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Superbug On The International Space Station

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