{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T13:27:42Z","timestamp":1776691662125,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,4]],"date-time":"2023-02-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1675468800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Medical University of Warsaw","award":["1M20\/3\/M\/MG\/N\/20"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1M20\/3\/M\/MG\/N\/20"]}]},{"name":"Medical University of Warsaw","award":["1M20\/1\/M\/MG\/N\/21"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1M20\/1\/M\/MG\/N\/21"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Bacteria are constantly being lifted to the stratosphere due to air movements caused by weather phenomena, volcanic eruptions, or human activity. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, they are exposed to extremely harsh and mutagenic conditions such as UV and space radiation or ozone. Most bacteria cannot withstand that stress, but for a fraction of them, it can act as a trigger for selective pressure and rapid evolution. We assessed the impact of stratospheric conditions on the survival and antibiotic resistance profile of common non-spore-forming human pathogenic bacteria, both sensitive and extremely dangerous multidrug-resistant variants, with plasmid-mediated mechanisms of resistance. Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not survive the exposure. In the case of strains that were recovered alive, the survival was extremely low: From 0.00001% of Klebsiella pneumoniae carrying the ndm-1 gene and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus mecA-positive with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (MRSA\/VISA), to a maximum of 0.001% of K. pneumoniae sensitive to all common antibiotics and S. aureus sensitive to vancomycin (MRSA\/VSSA). We noticed a tendency towards increased antibiotic susceptibility after the stratospheric flight. Antimicrobial resistance is a current real, global, and increasing problem, and our results can inform current understandings of antibiotic resistance mechanisms and development in bacteria.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20042787","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,6]],"date-time":"2023-02-06T02:29:23Z","timestamp":1675650563000},"page":"2787","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The Impact of Harsh Stratospheric Conditions on Survival and Antibiotic Resistance Profile of Non-Spore Forming Multidrug Resistant Human Pathogenic Bacteria Causing Hospital-Associated Infections"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Ignacy","family":"G\u00f3recki","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Chalubinskiego, Str. 5, 02-004 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Agata","family":"Ko\u0142odziejczyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Analog Astronaut Training Center, Morelowa Str. 1F\/4, 30-222 Cracow, Poland"},{"name":"Space Technology Centre, AGH University of Technology, Czarnowiejska Str. 36, 30-054 Cracow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2961-0617","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matt","family":"Harasymczuk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Analog Astronaut Training Center, Morelowa Str. 1F\/4, 30-222 Cracow, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gra\u017cyna","family":"M\u0142ynarczyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Chalubinskiego, Str. 5, 02-004 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4314-3522","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ksenia","family":"Szymanek-Majchrzak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Chalubinskiego, Str. 5, 02-004 Warsaw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"996","DOI":"10.1086\/591861","article-title":"National healthcare safety network team and participating national healthcare safety network facilities. 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