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
Wembley 1957
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wembley]
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an order for the work to be carried out within twenty-eight days and
the owner was find £5 0s. 0d. and ordered to pay costs of £2 2s. 0d.
and 8/6d. and a witness fee of £1 0s. 0d. Eventually the Borough
Council instructed a builder to carry out the work and the cost was
recovered from the owner.
The number of cases of overcrowding known to the Health Department has shown a steady decrease as the following figures indicate.
| Year. | Number of Cases of overcrowding on Register. | Total Number of Cases of overcrowding relieved during the year. | Number of Cases of overcrowding relieved during the year by removal to unknown addresses. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 602 | 307 | 22 |
| 1949 | 558 | 268 | 86 |
| 1950 | 516 | 133 | 6 |
| 1951 | 517 | 52 | 9 |
| 1952 | 456 | 102 | 2 |
| 1953 | 424 | 52 | 3 |
| 1954 | 303 | 133 | 95 |
| 1955 | 204 | 108 | 102 |
| 1956 | 169 | 47 | 42 |
| 1957 | 175 | 5 | 3 |
Household Pests.
The number of bug-infested houses has shown a marked decrease
in recent years and only 20 cases were recorded during 1957. With
the advent of D.D.T. and B.H.C. which with their derivatives remain
toxic to insects for long periods after their application, the control
of insects has become a much easier problem. Fleas which in years
past were quite a common pest are now very rarely encountered
Despite this great decrease in the prevalence of insects parasitic to
man the Department receives many enquiries with respect to other
pests as to their identification and control. In most cases the Depart
ment is able to indentify the species but in cases of doubt the
Entymologists at the Natural History Museum at South Kensington
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