Superbugs in space

A constellation of panicked headlines recently danced across our screens: "Sunita Williams in danger?", "Trouble for Sunita Williams, crew", "Sunita Williams 'bugged' in space", and so on.

- KUMAR ABISHEK

The very notion of this intrepid astronaut and others like her, nestled within the International Space Station (ISS), beset by unseen adversaries, stirred the collective imagination.

Though the situation at the ISS is slightly unsettling, holding funeral dirges would be an overkill.

Astronauts aboard the space station have found themselves facing a foe far tinier than any rogue asteroid: Ajoint study by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory-under principal investigator Kasthuri Venkateswaran-has revealed that strains of the bacterial species Enterobacter bugandensis, a multi-drug resistant superbug, have been hitting the gym in the microgravity crucible.

Now, before you start imagining scenes from a sci-fi movie, allow me to puncture your thought bubble: These aren't alien microbes; they're hitchhikers from Earth that have adapted to the unique environment of the space station. Near-zero gravity, high radiation, and recycled air with elevated carbon dioxide levels seem to be a perfect evolutionary pressure cooker, turning run-of-the-mill bacteria into potentially tougher opponents.

On Earth, Enterobacter bugandensis is mainly found in clinical specimens, including from the human gut. This usually harmless bacterium can act as an opportunistic pathogen, co-infecting people with compromised immunity.