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2,422 rooms were fumigated and the bedding, etc., removed and dis- Cleansing and
infected by steam. Of these 1,977 rooms were fumigated because of infectious Disinfection,
disease, 142 as a result of pulmonary tuberculosis, and' 303 because they were
verminous. In addition to these, scabies occurred in 418 families and the
bedding was taken away and disinfected by steam.
The disinfection of second-hand clothing, prior to export to South Africa
and the supervision of the packing of the goods was carried out as in previous
years. The number of such articles dealt with last year reached 4G,8G7.
In addition to South Africa we disinfect clothing to be sent to Ireland,
Russia, etc.
The total number of articles disinfected for all purposes was 100,67.1.
330 persons were cleansed during the year and had their clothing disinfected—320
adults and .10 children. 303 were cleansed because of vermin and
27 because of infectious disease.
It was not found necessary for me to take action under the Public Health Vaccination.
(Small Pox) Regulations, 1917, as the Public Vaccinators offered vaccination
or re-vaccination to all contacts of cases of Small Pox.
The study of some 1,433 cases of variola minor in the Metropolitan Borough
of Stepney was undertaken by Dr. Percy Stocks, Reader in Medical Statistics,
University College.
In the foreword of his report, Dr. Stocks said that he undertook the work
in the hope of answering some of the questions raised by the Ministry of Health
on the sub ject of vaccination, thus making the path of the Health Administrator
less difficult.
He has given me permission to quote from his report referring to the
Borough of Stepney, and the following is the summary of his conclusions : —
1. A statistical analysis of the records of an epidemic of variola minor in
the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney during .1929-30, in which years 1,433
cases occurred, and of records of infant vaccination prior to 1930, leads to the
following conclusions.
2. In the three years preceding the epidemic one-third of all infants surviving
the first year in Stepney had been vaccinated, this rate being 70% of
that in the country as a whole. It is estimated that in the general population
of Stepney at the beginning of the epidemnc the proportions who had been
vaccinated in infancy were about 35, 40 and 60% respectively in the first three
decades of age, or adding the proportions estimated to have been primarily
vaccinated after infancy, about 45, 65 and 80% respectively. I his did not