Characterization of Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Biofield Treated Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella oxytoca

What is it about?

Klebsiella are opportunistic pathogens that cause a wide spectrum of severe diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of biofield treatment on multidrug resistant strain of K. oxytoca with respect to antibiogram pattern along with biochemical study and biotype number. Clinical lab isolate of K. oxytoca was divided into two groups i.e. control and treated. Control group remain untreated and treated group was subjected to Mr. Trivedi’s biofield. The analysis was done on day 10 after biofield treatment and compared with control group. Control and treated groups were analyzed for antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), biochemical reactions and biotype number using MicroScan Walk-Away® automated system. Experimental results showed the impact of biofield treatment on K. oxytoca and found alteration in both antimicrobial sensitivity and MIC values as compared with untreated group. Antimicrobial sensitivity of about 26.67% tested antimicrobials out of thirty was altered with respect to control. MIC results showed about 12.50% alterations in tested antimicrobials as compared to control. Biochemical study showed 24.24% alteration in tested biochemical reactions after biofield treatment. A significant change in biotype number (7713 5272) was identified after biofield treatment as compared to control (7775 4332). In treated group, a new species was identified as Kluyvera ascorbata, as compared to control, K. oxytoca. Study findings suggest that biofield treatment has a significant effect in altering the antimicrobial sensitivity, MIC values, biochemical reactions and biotype number of multidrug resistant strain of K. oxytoca. Biofield treatment could be applied to alter the antibiogram-resistogram pattern of antimicrobials.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Klebsiella oxytoca (K. oxytoca) is a Gram-negative pathogen, cylindrical rod shaped, non-motile in nature, and belongs to Enterobacteriaceae family. Klebsiella spp. are ubiquitous in environment [1], but K. oxytoca can be cultured from intestines of healthy humans and animals, oropharynx, mucous membrane and skin. K. oxytoca initially named as Aerobacter aerogens, which was identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae, but recent report classified it as K. oxytoca, on the basis of indole-positive test and ability to grow on melezitose, not in 3-hydroxybutyrate [2]. It is considered as an opportunistic pathogen, as most of the cases K. oxytoca-infected persons remain asymptomatic. However, K. oxytoca is now recognized as important clinical pathogen in hospitalized patients causing major nosocomial infections in children and neonates [3]. It is reported in many etiological human infections such as urinary tract infection, septic arthritis, bacteremia, septicemia, cholecystitis, soft tissue infections, and most recently in colicky neonates [1, 4-7]. During last few years, incidence of extended spectrum β-lactamase producing multi-drug-resistance (MDR) Klebsiella spp. had increased. Cases of MDR infections had been increased suddenly, which resulted in ineffective antimicrobials treatment. Clinicians prefer multiple combination bactericidal therapy against infection instead of single drug. Recently, an alternate approach called biofield treatment on pathogenic microorganism is reported to alter the antimicrobial susceptibility. Biofield is a cumulative outcome of electric and magnetic field energy, exerted by the human body. However, the energy can exist in several forms such as kinetic, potential, electrical, magnetic, and nuclear. Similarly, the human nervous system consists of the energy and chemical information in the form of electrical signals. 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 via biofield energy. Mr. Trivedi’s unique biofield treatment is also known as The Trivedi Effect®. In spite of countless study reports on biofield therapies [8,9], there are very few well controlled and peer-reviewed experimental studies on pathogenic or MDR microbes. According to law of mass-energy inter-conversion [10], the conversion of mass into energy is well established, but its inversion i.e. energy into mass has not yet proved scientifically. Whenever these electrical signals fluctuate with time, the magnetic field generates as per the Ampere-Maxwell law, and cumulatively known as electromagnetic field. Mr. Trivedi’s biofield treatment is well-known to change the various physicochemical characteristics of metals and ceramics [11-14]. In addition, his unique biofield treatment has considerably altered the antimicrobials susceptibility and biochemical reactions of pathogenic microbes [15-17]. In agricultural science, biofield treatment altered the growth, characteristics and yield of important medicinal plants [18-21]. On the basis of several reports on biofield treatment, present study was designed to study the impact of biofield on MDR isolate of K. oxytoca, for its antimicrobials susceptibility pattern, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), along with biotyping based on variation in biochemical reactions.

Perspectives