Space travel is giving astronauts SHINGLES and cold sores

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Herpes viruses come back to life in most astronauts who travel to space, according to a study.

Researchers said about one in 14 people (seven per cent) carrying a virus had a breakout while in space, whereas around 57 per cent shed more of the viruses than on earth.

The viruses, which cause cold sores, shingles and glandular fever, become dormant over time but periods of stress or exhaustion can bring them back to life.

If going into space weakens the immune system enough to allow inactive viruses to resurface it could pose health risks for people on longer expeditions, experts said.

NASA-funded scientists in the US studied 89 astronauts in both space shuttle flight and on the International Space Station (ISS) if they went there.

They tested the astronauts' saliva for traces of HSV-1, the strain of herpes which causes cold sores and can also affect the genitals and other parts of the body.

Some 53 per cent of shuttle-flight astronauts and 61 per cent of ISS astronauts had traces of the virus shedding – when it reproduces and tries to spread.

And the longer people spent in space, the more active the virus became and the larger the quantities in which it was detected.

The study said 'several' people in the study developed shingles while in orbit. 

The researchers said space travel triggers a spike in stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which are known to weaken the immune system.

Astronauts were also found to produce increasing amounts of the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever; varicella-zoster, which causes chickenpox and shingles; and cytomegalovirus, which is usually harmless. All are herpes viruses.

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