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69
During 1923 the work carried out under the Council's Rat
Repression Scheme is summarised as follows :—
Premises visited 2,128
Poison baits used 47,560
Dead rats found 2,554
Contracts renewed 12
Value of contracts £164 10 0
Cash for poison bait £42 10 4
Drains were tested at 65 premises in connection with this
work, and in 30 cases were found to be defective. Most of these
defective drains were in private houses. As the presence of rats
in houses is usually regarded as prima facie evidence of drain
defects, the work of the Rat Officer therefore is carried on in close
co-operation with that of the district Sanitary Inspectors.
The methods employed under the Rat Repression Scheme have
been described in previous Annual Reports. It is only necessary,
therefore, to state that as an inspection of the summarised figures
shows, the work done during the year under this head has been as
satisfactory as in previous years.
Personal Cleansing Station.
The new Personal Cleansing Station, opened on the 3rd
November, 1923, was fully described in my Annual Report for
that year. The new premises have greatly facilitated the work
of the officers responsible for the cleansing and treatment of children
infested with vermin and of those suffering from scabies and other
contagious skin affections.
During the year 1924, there were 5,394 children and 311 adults
cleansed and treated at the station. Of the 5,394 children attending,
381 were suffering from scabies or itch, a contagious parasitic
skin affection. The remainder were verminous. These children
attended from the Public Elementary Schools in the Borough by
arrangement with the London County Council, who have entered
into a contract with the Borough Council for the use of their
Personal Cleansing Station. The cleansing and treatment of the
School children is carried out under the supervision of Officers of
the London County Council while the disinfestation of the clothing
and of the homes is carried out concurrently by the Borough
Council's Sanitary staff.
There was a considerable increase in the number of children
cleansed, &c., in 1924 as compared with the previous year. The
increased numbers dealt with are probably the result of the improved
facilities provided by the new Station enabling large numbers of
children to be attended to and with greater comfort and efficiency.
It is probable also that the increased prevalence of overcrowding
which is such a regrettable result of the housing shortage is in part
responsible for the rise in the numbers cleansed in 1924.
The following table shows the numbers of persons cleansed
and the expenditure incurred since 1906, the year in which the
cleansing of verminous persons was begun.