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60
Sanitation of House Property.
The systematic inspection of house property is carried out by
eight district inspectors, the Borough for this purpose being
divided into eight sanitary districts.
During 1912 the total number of houses inspected in houseto-house
inspection was 2,228 as compared with 2,736 in 1911.

The number of houses inspected it will be seen has varied
from year to year. The fluctuations in this important branch of
sanitary administrative work are due to many causes. The excessive
prevalence of infectious disease in certain years, taking
up a good deal of the time of the inspectors in securing the isolation,
removal to hospital of patients, disinfection of premises,
searching for sources of infection, contacts, etc. In two of the
sanitary districts during the past year the supervision of extensive
drainage work in new buildings took up a good deal of the
time of the Inspectors. The severe epidemic of measles which
spread through the Borough in the latter part of 1911 and the
first quarter of 1912 was largely responsible for the considerable
decline in house inspection in these years. Moreover, the recent
Order making Tuberculosis (all forms) compulsorily notifiable has
still further added to the duties and responsibilities of the sanitary
inspectorial staff, and it is probable that it will be impossible with
the present staff to maintain quite the same high level of houseinspection
carried out during the past ten years. It will be seen,
however, that making allowances for the increased work imposed
on the Health Department owing to recent legislative enactments
and departmental Orders, that a fair average of house-to-house
inspection has, on the whole, been maintained, and if all house
inspections are included, it will be found that the number (47,540)
exceeds that of the previous year by over 2,000.