London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Holborn 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]
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32
Block Control Scheme No. 3.
This scheme, which was started in March 1949,. and has yet to be completed, has
been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The scheme covers that
part of the Borough lying East of Woburn Place and Southampton Row to Gray's Inn
Road, and North of High Holborn.
Particulars of work carried out during the year under this scheme are as follow
| Blocks surveyed | 26 |
| Blocks treated | 21 |
| Business premises treated | 27 |
| Dwelling houses treated | 130 |
| Bombed sites and derelict buildings treated | 45 |
| Treatment visits | 1,177 |
| Other visits | 2,192 |
| Estimated kill (rattus rattus) | 553 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus rattus) | 171 |
| Estimated kill (rattus norvegicus) | 62 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus norvegicus) | 18 |
The rate of progress achieved with this scheme was not as great as had been anticipated
owing to a considerable increase in the work in connection with complaints of rat
or mice infestation in the Borough as a whole, and to the reduction of staff from four
rodent operatives to three in September.
Complaints.
Apart from Block Control Schemes 2 and 3, 262 complaints of rat or mice infestation
were received and investigated during 1949.
The following figures show the work carried out during the year arising from the complaints received: —
| No. of business premises visited | 399 |
| No. of dwelling houses visited | 400 |
| No. of business premises treated | 310 |
| No. of dwelling houses, treated | 344 |
| No. of business premises revisited | 2,456 |
| No. of dwelling houses revisited | 1,777 |
| Estimated kill | 1,456 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus rattus) | 523 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus norvegicus) | 45 |
| Business premises treated | 453 |
| Dwellings treated | 582 |
| Bombed sites and derelict buildings treated | 80 |
| Treatment visits | 4,232 |
| Other visits | 8,162 |
| Estimated kill (rattus rattus) | 2,917 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus rattus) | 933 |
| Estimated kill (rattus norvegicus) | 284 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus novegicus) | 102 |