Space flights are all the rage, but what happens to immunity up there?
The suppression of the immune system during space flight is a well-documented phenomenon.
During the Apollo missions in the ’60s and ’70s, for instance, many astronauts became sick with colds and other infections within a week of their return to Earth.
Clinicians have also observed the reawakening of dormant viral infections, such as herpes simplex, varicella zoster and Epstein-Barr viruses, among returned space travellers.
Despite being considered a major health risk, the mechanisms behind the immunosuppressive effects of microgravity in space have hitherto been nebulous.
