<![CDATA[Leptospirosis is zoonotic disease which caused by pathogenic Leptospira bacteria and potentially causing death in human. Rat, as main reservoir of Leptospira, had been most studied in urban or rural areas around the settlement of community. In contrast, leptospirosis studies in endemic rat were still limited. This study was aimed to identify endemic rat species of Sulawesi as reservoir of Leptospira in some regencies of South Sulawesi Province namely Bulukumba, Pangkep and East Luwu. This study was a part of Rikhus Vektora in 2017 by using live traps to catch rats in six various ecosystem types each regency. All catched rats were identified morphologically and followed by examinations using Microscopic Agglutination Test and Polymerase Chain Reaction. The result showed various endemic rats such as Rattus marmosurus, Rattus hoffmanni, Bunomys chrysocomus, Bunomys andrewsi and Bunomys coelestis were infected with leptospirosis. This study also showed new record of some endemic rat species were infected with leptospirosis. It is important to rise awareness of leptospirosis transmission in the forest habitat by the endemic rats. ABSTRAKLeptospirosis merupakan penyakit zoonosis disebabkan bakteri Leptospira patogenik dan berpotensi menyebabkan kematian pada manusia. Tikus sebagai reservoir utama Leptospira kebanyakan diteliti di kawasan perkotaan atau pedesaan di sekitar permukiman. Sebaliknya, penelitian leptospirosis pada tikus endemis jumlahnya sedikit. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi jenis tikus endemis Sulawesi sebagai reservoir Leptospira di Kabupaten Bulukumba, Pangkep dan Luwu Timur. Penelitian ini merupakan bagian dari Rikhus Vektora tahun 2017 dengan menggunakan perangkap hidup untuk menangkap tikus di enam ekosistem berbeda pada tiap kabupaten. Seluruh tikus tertangkap diidentifikasi secara morfologis yang selanjutnya diuji Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) dan Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Hasilnya diperoleh berbagai tikus endemis seperti Rattus marmosurus, Rattus hoffmanni, Bunomys chrysocomus, Bunomys andrewsi dan Bunomys coelestis terinfeksi leptospirosis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan catatan baru beberapa jenis tikus endemis Sulawesi terinfeksi leptospirosis. Kondisi ini perlu diwaspadai karena terdapat potensi penularan leptospirosis di habitat hutan dari tikus endemis tersebut.]]>
