Examining the pattern of antibiotic sensitivity test profile in klebsiella pneumoniae strain isolated from oral swab of smokeless tobacco consumers

Author: 
Racheal D’Souza, Samina Kazi and Anupma Harshal

Klebsiella pneumoniae is found in normal flora of the mouth and can cause irreparable damage to the human body. These pathogens are often resistant to variety of antibiotics and can aggravate illness. This study was undertaken to examine the pattern of Antibiotic Sensitivity of K. pneumoniae strain from oral swabs to certain antibiotics. The study is a representation of a cohort population from a socio-economically low background indulging in consumption of smokeless tobacco in Southern Mumbai, India. Oral swabs were collected from smokeless tobacco consumers and non- consumers. The strain was selected through Gram’s staining and Maneval’s Capsule staining and was further confirmed through Spectrofluorometric analysis and 16rRNA sequencing. Kirby-Bauer’s disc diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Colonies exhibiting a novel fluorescence phenomenon were tested against Ciprofloxacin, Amikacin, Tetracycline and Vancomycin. Twenty-four of the 50 total samples exhibited fluorescence phenomenon. All of the samples were resistant to Vancomycin while 37.5% out of the 24 exhibited resistance to all antibiotics indicating multi-drug resistance. This study may serve as a tool to detect the presence of Klebsiella sp. in oral isolates implying host defense mechanism of the oral micro biome reflected in the oral health of the subjects.