Sensitivity and Specificity of Serology, Histopathology, and Molecular Tests in the Detection of Leptospirosis from Slaughtered Cattle in Indonesia

Leptospira spp. is a pathogenic bacteria that causes leptospirosis in humans and cattle. The World Health
Organization (WHO) recommends the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) as the laboratory gold standard in the
detection of leptospirosis. However, the limitation of MAT triggers the laboratory technicians to develop alternative
laboratory tests against leptospirosis. The current study aimed to compare the sensitivity and specificity of
histopathology special stain using modified Gram staining (MGS) and molecular test using reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), compared to the MAT for Leptospira spp. detection in cattle. This study used a total of 38 serum and 38 kidney samples from the cattle slaughtered in the Sidoarjo slaughterhouse, Indonesia. The collected serum samples were tested against MAT and RT-PCR. The kidneys were processed for histopathology using MGS. The result indicated that 16 (42.10%) of the tested samples were positive against MAT, 6 (15.78%) were positive against MGS, and 18 (47.36%) were positive against RT-PCR. The RT-PCR indicated better
sensitivity and lower specificity, compared to MAT and MGS. The findings revealed that the RT-PCR is an appropriate laboratory test for detecting cattle leptospirosis with better sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, this
method can be suggested to substitute MAT and overcome its limitations.