IS<i>1311</i> PCR-REA types, PFGE profiles and estimations of span, K, and plateau for the quantification of each <i>M. avium</i> subsp. <i>paratuberculosis</i> isolate in the Bactec MGIT 960 system.

Growth of all the isolates in the Bactec MGIT 960 system fitted to a one-phase exponential-decay model according to the following equation [log10 inoculum size = span X e (-K X TTD) + plateau]. Span is the difference between TTD at time zero and the plateau, K is the degree of decay for the log10 CFU, and plateau is the value for log10 CFU curve flattening.