. 2021 Jun 28;149:e163. doi: 10.1017/S0950268821001412

Table 5.

Descriptive statistics of participants' characteristics collected via a questionnaire completed in 2018 and P value from univariable logistic regression modelling the seropositivity to C. burnetii in five administrative regions of Québec, Canada (n = 316)

Characteristics of participants	Number of participants^a	Seropositive participant		P value^b
Characteristics of participants	Number of participants^a	N^a	%	P value^b
Knowledge of Q fever/C. burnetii				0.26
Yes	43	4	9.3
No	273	13	4.8
Having lived or worked on a farm during a lifetime^c
Any type of ruminant farm				0.03
Yes	74	8	10.8
No	242	9	3.7
Bovine farm				0.06
Yes	68	7	10.3
No	247	10	4.1
Small ruminant farm				0.003
Yes	31	6	19.4
No	285	11	3.9
Occupational contact with animals between 2009 and 2014				0.03
Yes, as veterinarian or veterinarian student^d	18	4	22.2
Yes, as an animal health technician or animal health technician student	27	1	3.7
Yes, other occupations with regular animal contact^e	26	3	11.5
No	245	9	3.7
Having occupational contact with animals and/or having contact with animals during leisure activities between 2009 and 2014
Dog and/or cat				0.09
Yes, during work and leisure activities (dog owners)	58	6	10.3
Yes, during leisure activities (dog owners)	257	11	4.3
Small ruminant				0.98
Yes, at least during work activities	16	1	6.3
Yes, during leisure activities only	150	9	6.0
No	129	7	5.4
Bovine and/or cervids				0.93
Yes, at least during work activities	24	1	4.2
Yes, during leisure activities only	93	5	5.4
No	170	10	5.9
Having contact with new-born domestic animals between 2009 and 2014
Puppies and/or kittens				0.19
Yes, has witnessed birth^f	59	6	10.2
Yes, new-born <1 month old	57	4	7.0
No	183	7	3.8
Kids/lambs and/or calves^g				0.52
Yes, has witnessed birth^h	11	1	9.1
Yes, new-born <1 month old	20	0	0.0
No	273	16	5.9
Hunting activities				0.72
Yesⁱ	25	1	4.0
No	284	16	5.6
Drinking raw milk				0.38
Yes, cow's milk	19	2	10.5
No	287	15	5.2

Participants with missing values were excluded from the analyses, which includes eight participants who did not complete the questionnaire and a varying number of participants who answered ‘I don't know’ for specific questions.

Likelihood ratio test P value.

For this variable we refer to the year of birth up until the blood collection (so birth up to 2014). In this variable, the category ‘Any type of ruminant farm’ includes cattle, sheep or goat farms.

Of the 18 participants of this category, 17 are veterinarians and one is a veterinary student.

Other occupations with regular animal contact mainly includes working in a veterinary clinic, zoo or animal shelter (excluding veterinarians and animal health technicians), on a farm or in a slaughterhouse.

Of the 59 participants who witnessed the birth of puppies or kittens, 41 were present in the room during birth and 18 were present in the room after birth. Also, 16 had no contact with the birth material, 25 had contact at least once without any protection, 12 had contact with gloves, and six had contact with gloves and a mask.

The category ‘Yes, has witnessed birth’ was combined with ‘Yes, new-born <1 month old’ for analysis due to lack of model convergence secondary to a category with no seropositive participants.

Of the 11 participants who witnessed the birth of ruminants, ten were present during birth and one after birth. Also, four were never in contact with birth materials, six were in contact at least once without any protection and one had contact with birth materials with gloves.

ⁱ

Of the 25 participants taking part in hunting activities, 12 butcher the animal they hunt. The main hunted species are small mammals, birds and cervids.