Journal
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
Volume 72, Issue 1, Pages 174-179Publisher
WILEY-LISS
DOI: 10.1002/jmv.10555
Keywords
human herpesvirus-3; DNA; PCR; saliva; space flight
Categories
Funding
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE [P01NS032623] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING [R01AG006127, R37AG006127] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NIA NIH HHS [AG 06127] Funding Source: Medline
- NINDS NIH HHS [NS 32623] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) becomes latent in human ganglia after primary infection. VZV reactivation occurs primarily in elderly individuals, organ transplant recipients, and patients with cancer and AIDS, correlating with a specific decline in cell-mediated immunity to the virus. VZV can also reactivate after surgical stress. The unexpected occurrence of thoracic zoster 2 days before space flight in a 47-year-old healthy astronaut from a pool of 81 physically fit astronauts prompted our search for VZV reactivation during times of stress to determine whether VZV can also reactivate after non-surgical stress. We examined total DNA extracted from 312 saliva samples of eight astronauts before, during, and after space flight for VZV DNA by polymerase chain reaction: 112 samples were obtained 234-265 days before flight, 84 samples on days 2 through 13 of space flight, and 116 samples on days 1 through 15 after flight. Before space flight, only one of the 112 saliva samples from a single astronaut was positive for VZV DNA. In contrast, during and after space flight, 61 of 200 (30%) saliva samples were positive in all eight astronauts. No VZV DNA was detected in any of 88 saliva samples from 10 healthy control subjects. These results indicate that VZV can reactivate subclinically in healthy individuals after non-surgical stress.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available