Detection of Cattle Leptospirosis in Yogyakarta Based on Serology, Molecular, and Histopathological Tests

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Leptospira sp. which has been reported around the world. In
Indonesia, leptospirosis occurs in humans and animals. Humans can become infected with Leptospira sp. through
direct and indirect exposure to the urine of reservoir animals. Rodent (rats) is the main reservoir for Leptospira sp., however, other mammals such as cattle can also be infected with Leptospira sp. and become a source of transmission to humans and other animals. The study aimed to detect pathogenic Leptospira sp. from slaughtered cattle in the abattoir of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Fifteen sera and kidneys of cattle were fixed in the absolute ethanol. The sera were tested using microscopic agglutination test (MAT), and the kidneys were separated into two part. The first part was extracted, amplified and tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using LipL32 gene primers. The other part was processed
by histopathology. Both of these test were used to detect the leptospirosis in cattle. The MAT showed that as much as
33,3% (5/15) of collected samples were seroreactive against Bangkinang serovar. In addition, the PCR showed similar
result that indicated by the representation of band product in 498 bp. Histopathology showed that the positive samples
in both MAT and PCR test suffering for interstitial nephritis, perivasculitis, atherosclerosis, nephrosis, and fibrosis. This study showed that the MAT, PCR, and histopathology could be used as the detection tools for cattle leptospirosis.