VARIATION OF RAT SPECIES AND IDENTIFICATION OF LEPTOSPIROSIS IN SEVERAL TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS IN SOUTHEAST SULAWESI PROVINCE

Abstract

Rat is one of the mammals of which species are studied related to their role as disease reservoirs of various tropical diseases. One of the diseases that is transmitted from rats to humans or other mammals is leptospirosis. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the variation of field-caught rat species in various ecosystems and the results of the leptospirosis examination in Southeast Sulawesi Province. The rats were caught using 100 live traps for three consecutive days. The locations of trapping were in six ecosystems: forests near and far from settlements, non-forest locations near and far from settlements, and coastal areas near and far from settlements. The results showed that the total number of rats caught was 339, consisting of 18 species. Several species were found, ie, Bunomys andrewsi, B. chrysocomus, B. coelestis, B. penitus, Maxomys musschenbroekii, M. watsi, Mus sp, Paruromys dominator, Rattus exulans, R. hoffmanni, R. marmosurus, R. nitidus, R. argentiventer, R. tanezumi, R. norvegicus, R. xanthurus, Rattus sp, and Taeromys celebensis. The most dominant species found was R. tanezumi. The sylvatic rat species such as Paruromys dominator were mostly found in forest and coastal ecosystems far from settlements. The results of laboratory tests using the microscopic agglutinin test (MAT) technique showed that 32 rats were positive for leptospirosis. The positive rat species were found near settlements in forest and coastal ecosystems. There were eight Leptospira serovars: Icterohaemorrhagiae, Hebdomadis, Djasiman, Bataviae, Bangkinang, Grippotyphosa, Pomona and Robinsoni. The study concludes that the variety of rat species in the research location was relatively wide. In addition, the serovars found were also varied. Moreover, one rat could contain more than one serovar. This study revealed that 32 rats positive containing Leptospira sp have the potential to be a source of transmission of leptospirosis to humans. Information on leptospirosis-positive rats is essential for the surveillance of leptospirosis in humans.