London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Kensington 1938

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]

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The total weight of the bedding, clothing, etc., of Kensington residents disinfected was 40 tons
9 cwt. 0 qr. 11 lb. The number of articles disinfected only was 21,193 and the number disinfected
and washed, 1,343.
The laundry work for the medicinal baths is performed at the disinfecting station and this
work involved the washing of 11,050 towels, 347 sheets and 119 other articles.
The Paddington authority have an agreement with the council for the disinfection of all
articles removed from Paddington homes to be performed at the Kensington disinfecting
station. As the Paddington council require certain of the articles to be washed after disinfection
the charge is fixed at 20s. per cwt. of articles dealt with, but there is a proviso in the agreement
that the minimum payment per annum is to be £600.
The weight of Paddington articles disinfected was 20 tons 12 cwt. 0 qr. 6 lb. The number of
articles disinfected only was 7,238 and the number disinfected and washed was 2,037.
Disinfection of Library Books.
In view of the difficulty of securing efficient disinfection of books, the libraries committee
authorise the medical officer of health to destroy all public library volumes removed from infected
houses; this gives Kensington borrowers protection from infection from the council's books.
The number of books from the Kensington public libraries destroyed by the officers of the public
health department was 64. The number of private subscribing library books destroyed was 85, and
the number disinfected by formalin and returned to the householders was 8.
TUBERCULOSIS.
In accordance with the Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1930, which rescinded the
regulations previously issued and consolidated their provisions with minor amendments, all forms
of tuberculosis must be notified to the medical officer of health.
The information obtained from the system of notification is supplemented in the public health
department by a study of the death returns and of the records of the borough bacteriologist, who
examines a large number of specimens of sputum, etc., at the request of general practitioners.
When the bacteriologist finds tubercle bacilli in a specimen submitted by a practitioner, and a
notification is not received in the course of a few days, a letter is sent to the doctor asking him to
notify the case and in addition he is informed of the facilities for treatment offered by the council.

The following table shows the number of cases of tuberculosis in the various parts of the borough on the 31st December, 1938, and the number of cases notified for the first time during the year:—

Cases in the borough on 31st December, 1938.New cases notified during 1938.
The Borough623187
North Kensington428117
South Kensington19570
Wards.
St. Charles15545
Golborne11427
Norland8522
Pembridge7423
Holland3515
Earls Court4415
Queens Gate2513
Redcliffe7419
Brompton178

Since the notification of tuberculosis became compulsory in 1912, there has been a general
decline in the number of new cases in spite of an occasional rise in individual years. In 1936 and
again in 1937 the number of new cases increased over that of the previous year, but it is pleasing to