Objectives: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that occurs worldwide. It is an important disease of cattle because is responsible for abortions, stillbirths and acute septicemia. The present study was undertaken to compare the results of two methods, PCR and Levaditi Manovelian staining for diagnosis of leptospiral nephritis in cattle. Materials & Methods: In this study, kidneys of 500 cattle were collected from Juneghan abattoir of Shahrekord, Iran and examined for the presence of lesions macroscopically. Tissue samples were taken from kidneys with gross lesions for PCR and histopathological study. Results & Conclusion: Of 1000 examined kidneys, 113 (11.3%) had different macroscopic changes. PCR positive results and interstitial nephritis were seen in 42 and 57 of 113 kidneys with gross lesions, respectively. Leptospiral organisms were observed as long slender coiled or wavy shape only in one kidney by Levaditi Manovelian staining method. Histopathological examination of the kidney revealed epithelial cell necrosis and desquamation of renal tubules, severe mononuclear interstitial nephritis, hyaline casts formation in some renal tubules and peritubular fibrosis. The results of this study showed that PCR is more sensitive than Levaditi Manovelian staining method for diagnosis of bovine leptospiral nephritis.

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