A recent review study has concluded that more than half of space-faring astronauts come back with the reactivated Herpes virus in their blood. A recent CDC study also found that half of the US population from the age of 14-49 has either HSV-1 or HSV-2.
An image taken from the ISS, where the results were taken from.
Herpes normally remains dormant in the bloodstream of anyone who has ever had it, but now it seems like the stresses and rigors of spaceflight can reawaken the dormant viruses of the Herpes family. This is bad news for anyone travelling in space for long periods of time. It’s likely future space missions will need antiviral treatments available on-board.
Sources:
https://www.space.com/spaceflight-herpes-viruses-reactivation.html
https://www.livescience.com/61681-herpes-infections-united-states.html
So this might seem a little obvious. but did those astronauts have herpes before the flight, or were they given it as part of the study?…