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
Kensington 1957
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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For a number of years, all the sewers in the borough have been
treated with poison bait, to destroy rats, twice yearly. This work has
hitherto been carried out in January and June each year, coinciding with
similar treatments carried out in neighbouring boroughs. The Ministry
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have had this sewer-baiting under review
generally, and from experiments carried out by them, it was recommended
that a new system of treatment should be introduced. The new system,
which was adopted by the Council, involved changing the times of baiting
to April and September each year, allowing a longer period of time during
which baits were left in the sewers, and mixing a mould inhibitor
(paranitrophenol) with the baiting material to act as a preservativeo
The January treatment under the old method had already been carried out, but the following table shows the results obtained during the year, compared with the results obtained in the previous five years:-
| Year | Estimated number of rats killed | |
|---|---|---|
| First treatment | Second treatment | |
| 1952 | 5,982 | 4,133 |
| 1955 | 5,458 | 4,312 |
| 1954 | 4,142 | 4,667 |
| 1955 | 4,515 | 5,430 |
| 1956 | 4,764 | 4,138 |
| 1957 | 4,476 (January) | |
| 7,751 ( April ) | 7,044 (September) | |
The rodent staff deal with infestations from pests other than rats and mice, and the following is a summary of all action taken during the years-
| Complaints investigated | 1,195 | |
| Premises inspected following complaints | 1,254 | |
| Premises where rats were found | 304 | |
| Premises where mice were found | 589 | |
| Premises where other vermin were found | 148 | |
| Premises where no infestation existed | 213 | |
| Number of visits made | 6,322 | |
| Number of notices served | 15 | |
| Premises successfully treated | 1,100 | |
| Cases in which advice only was given | 64 | |
| Borough Council properties dealt with | 24 | |
Pharmacy and Poisons Act, 1933
At the end of the year the number of sellers of Part II Poisons
(other than registered pharmacists) on the list maintained by the
Council was one hundred and twenty-two. Of this number, seven were new
registrations during the year.
Rag Flock and Other Filling Materials Act, 1951
This Act regulates the use of clean filling materials in
upholstered articles and other articles which are stuffed or lined.
Subject to certain exceptions, the Act makes it unlawful to use
prescribed filling materials except on premises registered by a local
authority. The exceptions are in the remaking and reconditioning of any
article or upholstering in connection with the making of railway carriages,
road vehicles, ships or aircraft. The local authority are required, on
the application of the occupier of premises, to register the premises on
payment of a registration fee of one pound. At the end of the year, there
were nineteen registered premises in the borough.
The Act further provides that no rag flock shall be delivered to