Evaluation of the 900 MHz Radiofrequency Radiation Effects on the Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Growth Rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Abstract

Introduction: Drug resistance to one or more antibiotics is mainly believed to be a serious threat to global public health which occurs by various mechanisms. The electromagnetic field as a nonchemical tool is capable of altering the antimicrobial susceptibility of bacteria. The aim of this study is the evaluation of the antimicrobial susceptibility of the Klebsiella pneumoniae to antibiotics before and after exposure to 900 MHz radiofrequency (RF) radiation produced by a mobile phone. Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility of the bacteria to antibiotics disks were performed after exposure to 900 MHz radiofrequency radiation. Antimicrobial susceptibility was carried out by Kirby-Bauer and the inhibition zone of each antibiotic disk was measured (as mean). Additionally, growth variations under exposure were recorded and an outgrowth curve was drawn. Results: Based on the results, after 12 hours of exposure to 900MHz radiofrequency, there was observed a maximum increase in the sensitivity of K. pneumoniae and shown that radiofrequency (RF) radiation can change antimicrobial sensitivity significantly (P < 0.05). Also, the radiofrequency radiation effect on the bacterial proliferation was evaluated and showed that exposure enables the bacteria to grow faster in the exponential phase than the non-exposed bacteria. Conclusions: The findings of the study indicated that the sensitivity of K. pneumoniae was significantly increased to the various antibiotics after 12 hours of exposure to 900 MHz radiofrequency radiation. These observations could be interpreted by the concept of non-linearity in the responses of K. pneumoniae to different antibiotics after exposure to electromagnetic radiofrequency radiation and can be useful in the management of serious infectious diseases.