Reactivation and Shedding of Cytomegalovirus in Astronauts during Spaceflight

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 182; no. 6; pp. 1761 - 1764
• Main Authors: Mehta, Satish K., Stowe, Raymond P., Feiveson, Alan H., Tyring, Stephen K., Pierson, Duane L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Johnson Space Center The University of Chicago Press 01.12.2000; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Adult; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Astronauts; Behavioral Sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Catecholamines - blood; Catecholamines - urine; Concise Communications; Cytomegalovirus; Cytomegalovirus - immunology; Cytomegalovirus - isolation & purification; Epstein Barr virus infections; Female; Hormones; Human herpesvirus 4; Human viral diseases; Humans; Hydrocortisone - blood; Infection Control - methods; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Space Flight; Spacecraft launching; Stress hormones; Stress, Psychological - immunology; Stress, Psychological - urine; Stress, Psychological - virology; Urine; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Virus Activation - physiology; Virus Latency; Virus Shedding - physiology; Viruses; Antibodies, Viral/blood; Human; Support, U.s. Gov't, Non-P.h.s; Catecholamines/blood/urine; Virus Latency; Cytomegalovirus/immunology/isolation & Purification; Non-Nasa Center; Male; Virus Activation/physiology; Hydrocortisone/blood; Space Flight; Short Duration; Nasa Center Jsc; Flight Experiment; Sts Shuttle Project; Nasa Discipline Regulatory Physiology; Adult; Female; Stress, Psychological/immunology/urine/virology; Astronauts; Manned; Virus Shedding/physiology; Infection Control/methods; Infection; Virus; Reactivation; Astronaut; Herpesviridae; Viral disease; Space flight; Betaherpesvirinae; Human cytomegalovirus; NASA Center JSC; NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology; Non-NASA Center
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/317624

The reactivation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in 71 astronauts was investigated, using polymerase chain reaction. A significantly greater (P < .0001) shedding frequency was found in urine samples from astronauts before spaceflight (10.6%) than in urine from the healthy control subject group (1.2%). Two of 4 astronauts studied during spaceflight shed CMV in urine. A significant increase (P < .0001) in CMV antibody titer, compared with baseline values, was also found 10 days before spaceflight. CMV antibody titer was further increased (P < .001) 3 days after landing, compared with 10 days before the mission. Significant increases in stress hormones were also found after landing. These results demonstrate that CMV reactivation occurred in astronauts before spaceflight and indicate that CMV may further reactivate during spaceflight.