Variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) typing of strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony isolated from the north-eastern regions of Italy between 1990 and 1993.

The origin of the outbreaks of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in Italy between 1990 and 1993 were never successfully traced mainly due to the close similarity of the strains of the causative mycoplasma, Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony (MmmSC) and the limitations of the typing tools available at the time. In this report we examined a selection of strains isolated in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions of Italy by the highly discriminatory variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) procedure. Results were analysed for the first time by a capillary sequencer-based method. It was shown that all the MmmSC strains were genetically very similar and all belonged to the same profiles for both VNTR 4 and 5. This suggests that the outbreaks in Northern Eastern Italy, which eventually spread to other parts of the country, originated from a single source.