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Disinfection and Disinfestation
A summary of the routine work of the disinfecting staff is
shown in the following table
Houses disinfected after infectious disease 200 ( 293 rooms)
Houses disinfested after vermin 547 (1484 rooms)
Loads of furniture treated with hydrogen
cyanide 16
Total weight of furniture, bedding, etc. dealt with s-
24 tons 13 cwt. 2 qtr. 3 lb.
It is the practice of certain foreign countries to prohibit
the import of parcels of clothing, unless accompanied with a certificate
that the articles have been disinfected. The Council afford facilities
to persons desirous of sending clothing abroad, but make a charge of
2/6d. for each certificate provided. During the year, 135 parcels of
clothing were disinfected and the income amounted to £16. 17s. 6d. The
following table indicates the destination of these parcels s-
No. of parcels
Czechoslovakia 88
Spain 23
Bulgaria 6
Hungary 6
Rumania 5
Russia 5
Argentine 1
Italy 1
TOTAL 135
Some countries allow the import of clothing if accompanied by
a certificate stating that no case of infectious disease has occurred
at the sender's address within twenty-one days prior to mailing. During
the year, thirteen such certificates were issued,
H.C.N. (hydrogen cyanide) Disinfestation
In 1933, the Council adopted a policy of disinfesting with H.C.N.
the furniture and household effects of all tenants moving into new
Council property, as a method of preventing bed bugs being taken from
old houses into the new dwellings.
With the manufacture and sale for general use of effective
insecticides, such as D.D.T., there has been a considerable reduction
in the number of infested houses in the borough and, therefore, in 1954»
the Council decided to discontinue the policy of treating the furniture
of all incoming tenants irrespective of whether there was evidence of
infestation or not. A scheme was substituted under which the Council's
Chief Housing Officer notifies the Medical Officer of Health, in advance,
of the names and addresses of prospective tenants, and inspections of
the furniture and effects at the old homes are made by a public health
inspector. If infestation is found, the contents of the home are
collected by the Council's staff, disinfested at Wood Lane with H.C.N.,
and then taken to the new house or flat. If no infestation is found,
the prospective tenant is allowed to move in directly to the new flat or
house. In all cases, the walls and ducts of the new flats or houses are
treated with Gammexane smoke generators (B.H.C.) as a preventive measure.
During 1958, one hundred and seventy new flats, which became
ready for occupation, were treated with Gammexane smoke generators before
being occupied. The furniture, etc. of the families selected to move
into these flats were inspected. With nine exceptions every case was
found to be free from vermin and the tenants were allowed to move directly
into their new homes. In the nine infested cases, the furniture was