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13
DISINFECTION AND DISINFESTATION
A summary of the routine work carried out in 1961 by the
disinfecting staff is shown in the following table
Houses disinfected after
infectious disease 185 (291 rooms)
Houses disinfested after vermin 584 (l544 ")
Loads of furniture treated
with hydrogen cyanide 7
Total weight of furniture, bedding, etc. dealt with:-
Tons cwt. qtr. lb.
16 16 2 17
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,
139 parcels of clothing were disinfected and the income amounted to
£17• 7s. 6d. The following table indicates the destination of these
parcelss-
No. of parcels
Czechoslovakia 69
Spain 55
Rumania 11
Bulgaria 3
Uruguay 1
TOTAL 139
Some other 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 29 such certificates
were issued.
H.C.N, (hydrogen cyanide) Disinfestation
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. The
Council have, therefore, discontinued their policy of treating
with H.C.N, the furniture of all incoming tenants of new flats,
irrespective of whether there was evidence of infestation or not.
The present scheme provides for the Council's Chief Housing Officer
to notify 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 flat. If no infestation is found, the prospective
tenant is allowed to move in directly to the new flat. In all
cases, the walls and ducts of the new flats are treated with
Gammexane smoke generators (B.H.C.) as a preventive measure.
During 1961, 178 new flats and 9 converted properties
became ready for occupation. In 7 cases the furniture of
families selected to move into these Council flats (or conversions)
was found to be infested and was treated with H.C.N, at the
disinfecting station.