New Report: An Overview of Bats Bacteria And Its Implication For Tourism In KEK Mandalika, Lombok Island West Nusa Tenggara - Indonesia

Abstract Bats play an important role in the survival of the ecosystem, however, bats are also becoming reservoirs and vectors in the transmission of some human diseases. There are many genera of bacteria that have been reported to exist in the body of a bat and can infect a human being including Salmonella, Bartonella, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas , and Neisseria . The study aimed to detect bacteria on the bat’s body and to evaluate its implications on tourism, especially tourism in the Special Economic Regions (KEK) of Mandalika. An observation was made from August 2022 to January 2023. Bat samples were taken at several nests in the bat’s natural habitat in Mandalika, between Kuta, Mertak, Prabu and Mekarsari villages. The observation of bacterial culture was performed from samples isolated from rectal swabs and blood collection. Carry Blair Transport Media was used as transport media. In the laboratory, samples were aseptically cultured in Soy Trypticase media and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. The colonies were subcultured and examined on their colony characteristics, cell characteristics using Gram staining and biochemical characteristics using biochemical testing. Identification of the bacteria referred to Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Microbiology Ninth edition. From 90 bats caught, there were 5 species of the bats that were infected by bacteria, namely Cynopterus nusatenggara, Rosettus amplexicaudatus, Eonycteris spelaea, Rhinolopus acuminatus , and hipposideros diadema . There were 13 species infecting those bats including Kurthia sp., Shigella sp., Bacillus sp., Proteus sp. Proteus vulgaris, Clostridium sp., Serratia sp., Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermis, Staphylococcus aureus, Eschericia coli , and Acinotobacter calcoaceticus were identified. In conclusion, the study highlights that various bacterial species inhabit bats in Mandalika, which may pose health risks to humans and have implications for tourism development in the area. This underscores the importance of implementing biosecurity measures and public health monitoring, especially in tourism sectors within ecologically sensitive regions like Mandalika.