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14
The sale of second-hand furniture infected with bed bugs is
only too frequent and many new flats are originally infested in
this way. Tenants newly-housed might well be warned of the dangers
of the indiscriminate purchase of old furniture which has hot
been dlslnfested before sale.
Nowadays many people send articles of clothing etc., to relatives living abroad, and in this connection some Eastern European
countries require that the articles shall be disinfected before
being despatched, and a certificate to that effect produced. During
the year 50 such certificates relating to 508 articles were issued
and a nominal charge of 2/6 was made for each certificate.
An unusual request was received from a from of shipping Importers. a cargo of coir matting had been delivered to a London county
Council store in the Borough and was found to be infested with Domestes Frichii, (carpet Beetle). Dlslnfestatlon of the whole of the
consignment was carried out.
Where it is necessary, mattresses are supplied by the proprietors of Olympla for people who have to sleep on the premises during certain exhibitions, particularly those with cattle at the
Dairy Show, and in this connection 230 were dealt with after this
particular show.
The steam steriliser was also used to dry mattresses etc. of
families who were unfortunate enough to suffer damage from water as
a result of burst water storage tanks and defective roofs.
At the beginning of the year there was a steady increase of
cases of body lice from inmates of Rowton House, a visit was made to
the premises with the District sanitary inspector and it was found
that it was not possible to improve on the cleanliness of the premises, and the hlgh number of individuals sent for treatment only
emphasises the vigilance of the staff in their attempt to keep up the
standard of cleanliness The superintendent of Rowton House also
visited the cleansing station to see for himself how the work is
carried out.
The incidence of body lice In the Borough is very low and there
have been no re-infectlions since 1951 of local people who have received treatment for pediculosis pubis, (crab lice), at the baths.
One case of Impetigo was seen at the cleansing station. This
was the first since 1953 and was a secondary infection of pediculosis capitis. It quickly cleared when treated with mercury ointment.
In the immediate pre-war period the average number of cases was
about 300 per year.
Health Laundry
Three years have now elapsed since the introduction of the
Health Laundry Scheme.