Abattoir study of the prevalence of renal lesions in slaughtered cattle

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence and type of renal lesions in cattle that were slaughtered at the Ghaem (Shahriar) and Ziaran (Ghazvin) abattoirs. A total number of 405 clinically normal cattle were randomly selected and renal samples were taken for histopathological study. The cattle were divided into two groups according to sex, and female groups were divided into two age groups (heifer and cow). Thirty-five (8.6%) out of the studied animals had renal lesions including interstitial nephritis, cysts, glomerolonephritis, acute tubular necrosis (ATN), pyelonephritis, amyloidosis, leukosis hydronephrosis and unilateral renal aplasia. Interstitial nephritis was the most common observed lesion (85.7%). The prevalence of renal lesions in female and male cattle were 8.5% and 9.4%, respectively, which was not a statistically significant difference. The prevalence of renal lesions in cows and heifers were 10% and 2.8%, respectively (p < 0.05). It is concluded that age is more important influence factor on renal lesion than sex.