Phenotypic and Biotypic Characterization of Klebsiella oxytoca: An Impact of Biofield Treatment

What is it about?

Klebsiella oxytoca (K. oxytoca) is a Gram-negative microbe generally associated with community and hospital-acquired infections. Due to its clinical significance, we evaluated the effect of biofield treatment on phenotype and biotype characteristics of K. oxytoca (ATCC 43165). The study was performed into three groups i.e. C (control), T1 (treatment, revived); and T2 (treatment, lyophilized). Subsequently, groups T1 and T2 were received biofield treatment and control group was remained as untreated. The antimicrobial sensitivity results showed 3.33% and 6.67% alteration in antimicrobials susceptibility in group T1 cells on day 5 and 10, respectively, and 3.33% alteration in antimicrobials susceptibility was observed in group T2 cells on day 10 as compared to control. The sensitivity patterns of cefazolin were changed from resistant (R) to intermediate (I) on day 5, and resistance (R) to susceptible (S) on day 10, in T1 cells of K. oxytoca. The MIC value of cefazolin was decreased by 2-fold in group T1 on day 10 as compared to control. The biofield treated K. oxytoca exhibited the changes in biochemical reactions about 3.03% and 15.15% of total tested biochemicals in group T1 cells on day 5 and 10, respectively as compared to control. The biotype number of K. oxytoca was altered in biofield treated group and organism identified as Raoultella ornithinolytica in T1 on day 10 as compared to control, which is the prominent finding of this study. These changes were found in treated bacteria that might be due to some alteration happened in metabolic/enzymatic pathway and/or at genetic level of K. oxytoca. Based on these data, it is speculated that biofiled treatment could be an alternative approach that can improve the effectiveness of the existing antimicrobials against the resistant pathogens.

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Why is it important?

Microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are continuously acquiring the resistance against existing antimicrobials that possess a major global threat to public health. In the latest report of World Health Organization (WHO) warned to the occurrence of post-antibiotic era, where people will die from simple microbial infections due to ineffectiveness of current antimicrobials. Frequent and improper use of antimicrobial further accelerated the incidence of microbial resistance [1,2]. Klebsiella oxytoca (K. oxytoca) is a rod-shaped, nonmotile, Gram-negative bacterium with a prominent polysaccharide capsule, which provides a resistance against host defense mechanisms. Klebsiella species are normally associated with the community and hospital-acquired infections particularly in immunocompromised patients. The patients having prostatectomies, neurosurgical procedures, intravascular catheters, colonoscopies, platelet transfusions, urinary tract infections (UTI), and pre-existing viral or antibiotic induced colitis are more prone to K. oxytoca infection [3]. K. oxytoca has developing the enzymes extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) and carbapenemases that lead to bacterial resistance to β-lactam antibiotics. Therefore, K. oxytoca is usually resistant to some antibiotics like cefotaxime, ceftazidime and aztreonam [4,5]. Recently, biofield treatment is reported for the alteration in sensitivity of antimicrobials against the tested microorganism [6]. The conversion of mass into energy is well known in literature for hundreds of years that was further explained by Fritz [7] and Einstein [8]. The energy can exist in various forms like kinetic, potential, electrical, magnetic, and nuclear; and can be produced from different sources. Correspondingly, the nervous system of human also consists of neurons that have the ability to transmit information in the form of electrical signals [9-11]. Thus, human has the ability to harness the energy from environment or universe and can transmit into any living or nonliving object(s) around the globe. The objects always receive the energy and responding into useful way that is called biofield energy and the process is known as biofield treatment. Mr. Trivedi’s biofield treatment is well-known to change the various physicochemical characteristics of metals and ceramics [12-14]. The quality and yield of several agriculture products have also been improved with several folds in the biofield treated plants [15]. Exposure to biofield energy caused an increase in growth and anatomical characteristics of plant [16]. Further, the biofield treatment has considerably altered susceptibility of antimicrobials and biotype number of microbe [6,17,18]. By conceiving the above mentioned facts and literature reports on biofield, the present work was undertaken to evaluate the impact of biofield treatment on antimicrobials susceptibility, biochemical reactions pattern, and biotype of K. oxytoca.

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