Flock-level risk factors for outbreaks of infectious arthritis in lambs, Norway 2018

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)
Variable	Categories	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 assistance^a	Adequate (always hand wash or change of gloves)	1423	95.3	76	90.5	1347	95.6	0.03
Hand hygiene when performing lambing assistance^a	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
Are the single pens cleaned between lambings?	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
How often is the shed cleaned (washed)?	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

ISSN: 1751-0147