Table 4.
Description of variables for hygienic measures tested in the univariable screening (Chi2-test)
| Variable | Categories | Total | Case flocks (n = 84) | Control flocks (n = 1414) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | n | % | P-value | ||
| Hand hygiene: statement: “I always wash my hands and/or change gloves after handling diseased animals”a | Fully agree | 1309 | 87.4 | 66 | 78.6 | 1243 | 88.0 | 0.012 |
| Partly agree/disagree | 188 | 12.6 | 18 | 21.4 | 170 | 12.0 | ||
| Hand hygiene when performing lambing assistancea | Adequate (always hand wash or change of gloves) | 1423 | 95.3 | 76 | 90.5 | 1347 | 95.6 | 0.03 |
| Inadequate (not consistent hand hygiene measures) | 70 | 4.7 | 8 | 9.5 | 62 | 4.4 | ||
| Is the bedding material in the single pens changed between lambings?b | Usually/always | 747 | 66.2 | 47 | 77.1 | 700 | 65.6 | 0.126 |
| Sometimes/never | 354 | 31.4 | 14 | 23.0 | 340 | 31.9 | ||
| Do not use single pens | 27 | 2.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 27 | 2.53 | ||
| Are the single pens cleaned between lambings? | Always | 99 | 29.3 | 7 | 35.0 | 92 | 28.9 | 0.563 |
| Sometimes/never | 239 | 70.7 | 13 | 65.0 | 226 | 71.1 | ||
| How often are the bottles/stomach tubes cleaned? | Between every lamb | 722 | 48.4 | 39 | 46.4 | 683 | 48.5 | 0.710 |
| Once daily | 492 | 33.0 | 31 | 36.9 | 461 | 32.7 | ||
| When needed | 279 | 18.7 | 14 | 16.7 | 265 | 18.8 | ||
| How often is the shed cleaned (washed)? | Annually | 988 | 66.0 | 57 | 67.9 | 931 | 65.9 | 0.710 |
| Less often than annually | 509 | 34.0 | 27 | 32.1 | 482 | 34.1 | ||
aTested in multivariable model
bNot tested in the multivariable model due to categories with five or fewer observations