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Tooting will meet the requirements of the borough for many years. In connection with this
station it is proposed to construct a chamber for disinfection with formalin articles which cannot
be disinfected in any other way. Dr. Roberts describes the apparatus which has been erected at
Deptford and which was largely used in 1903. In Woolwich the apparatus has been removed
from the dust destructor station to the electric light works in White Hart-road, and considerable
improvements have been effected. Paddington and Kensington are the only authorities who
rely upon the services of a contractor, and in both boroughs there is the intention to provide
a station.
During the present year I addressed letters to the London medical officers of health asking
what processes were adopted in the various boroughs for the disinfection of rooms. From the
information obtained it appears that in Paddington a formalin spray only is used, followed by
stripping, etc., when thought necessary. In Kensington, sulphurous acid gas is used, excepting
in cases of measles and consumption. In Hammersmith the room is sulphured and bedding
removed ; the room is carbolised before the bedding is returned. In Fulham, fumigation with
sulphur dioxide is adopted, and washing or spraying with bichloride of mercury (1-1,000). The
walls are stripped. In Chelsea, tins of sulphur dioxide are in some cases used, and burning roll
sulphur is used in other cases when more efficient disinfection is required. In St. Marylebone
and Hampstead, sulphur dioxide is used; formalin is also used in the latter district. In St.
Pancras the process is to spray with formalin, to fumigate with sulphurous acid gas from burning
sulphur and to wash in soft soap all woodwork and furniture. In Islington the rooms are either
fumigated or sprayed with formalin solution. In Stoke Newington, formic aldehyde is used
as a gaseous disinfectant, and for washing the surfaces of rooms, corrosive sublimate; textile
articles are disinfected by steam. In Hackney, sulphur is used. In Holborn, formic aldehyde
is used in ordinary cases and sulphurous acid gas in cases of smallpox. In Finsbury, sulphur
fumigation is used for vermin, etc., formic aldehyde, as a rule, for infectious disease, spraying
with chloride of lime (1.2 per cent.) in all cases of phthisis and smallpox, and stripping and
cleansing is done when necessary. In the City of London a formalin spray is used, and formalin
vapour rarely. In Shoreditch. after the removal of textile articles, the floors, walls, and ceilings
are sprayed with a 2 per cent, solution of betalvsol; in some cases fumigation with sulphur (one
pound of sulphur to 1,000 cubic feet) is the method employed; occasionally both spraying and
fumigation are resorted to; very rarely formic aldehyde is used for small spaces, such as the
interior of vehicles; walls of rooms are stripped and cleansed after fumigating when necessary.
In Bethnal-green, until recently, sulphur candles have been used for the disinfection of rooms;
formic aldehyde is now being tried. In Stepney the rooms are sprinkled with a solution of
carbolic acid and then fumigated with sulphur. In Poplar the rooms are sprayed with formalin.
In Southwark after a case of infectious disease, with the exception of erysipelas, the room is first
sprayed with formalin (3 ozs. to a gallon of water), the paper is then stripped off walls, the room
is afterwards fumigated with sulphur and kept closed for 8 hours whilst under that process. In
Bermondsey, formalin sprays (2 per cent. solution) are used; sulphur is only used in cases of
verminous rooms. In Lambeth, as a rule, formic aldehyde solution (40 per cent. by volume)
sprayed through an Equifex sprayer, is used. In Battersea, formic aldehyde or sulphur dioxide
are used for fumigating, and formalin solution for spraying. In W andsxcorth and Deptford,
sulphur and formalin are used. In Camberwell, fumigation is done by formalin, and after measles
by sulphurous acid gas. In Greenwich sulphurous acid gas is generally used; formic aldehyde is
only used in special and particular cases. In Lewisham the formalin spray is used. In
Woolwich, fumigation is done with formalin tablets (25 per 1,000 cubic feet), and in cases of smallpox
spraying with formalin (5 per cent, solution) is used in addition.
Shelters.
The decrease in the prevalence of smallpox in the year 1903 led to smaller use of shelters
than in the preceding year. In several annual reports the number of persons or families received
into the shelters during the year is stated, and it is thus learnt that in Fulham 7 persons were accommodated,
in Chelsea 29, in Westminster 19, in St. Marylebone 30, in St. Pancras 211, in Islington
18, in Stoke Newington 1, in Hackney 148, in Finsbury 26, in the City 39, in Shoreditch 14, in
Poplar 92, in Southwark 85, in Bermondsey 90, in Wandsworth 14, in Deptford 1, in Greenwich
10. In Paddington, Hampstead, Holborn, Lambeth, Camberwell, and Woolwich the shelter was
not used during the year. In Battersea a shelter is being erected which will provide accommodation
for three families, as well as a residence for the keeper of the mortuary in a two-storey
dwelling on land adjoining the mortuary. In Kensington a site for the provision of a disinfecting
station has not yet been decided upon.
Mortuaries.
The following information as to mortuaries is derived from the reports of medical officers of
health. In Lambeth the need for a mortuary for the increasing population of the Norwood Ward
has long been felt, and in 1903 negotiations for the acquisition of a site in the Windsor-road were in
progress; Dr. Priestley describes the High-street mortuary as being inadequate, and says that
what is wanted is a new mortuary and coroner's court on a new site, or the reconstruction of the
existing mortuary buildings on the present site, a matter which is under the consideration of the
Public Health Committee. By the amalgamation of the three districts of Bermondsey, Rotlierhithe,
and St. Olave, the Bermondsey Borough Council became possessed of three mortuaries. Dr.
Brown recommended the abandonment of the mortuary in St. Olave, which was accordingly
demolished. In Poplar, the need of suitable mortuary accommodation has been felt, and the
auestion of the selection of a suitable site has been under consideration, but no final decision has
been arrived at. In the Borough of Wandsworth the mortuary at Clapham was improved, but
no further step was taken in reference to the erection of a new mortuary and coroner's court in
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