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19
DISINFECTION AND DISINFESTATION
Although disinfection of bedding, clothing or soiled
articles is necessary during the course of a number of diseases,
disinfection of a room at the end of an illness is probably only
necessary in cases of smallpox and possibly tuberculosis. In
almost all other cases a thorough cleansing of the room with
soap and water is sufficient to prevent the spread of infection
from this source. Nevertheless disinfection of rooms after
infectious disease has been carried out so generally and for so
many years that it would probably be wrong to refuse disinfection
where it is requested. To refuse might well cause apprehension
in the minds of some members of the public and in any case
whilst disinfection is being carried out there is a good opportunity
to emphasise the importance of good lighting, proper ventilation
and thorough cleanliness. During the year, 124 rooms were
disinfected after infectious disease in 100 premises.
Disinfestation of premises infested with vermin has
changed considerably during the past fifteen years because of the
use of insecticides which continue to act over a period of weeks
or months as opposed to those used before the war which had no
residual effect and which did not in all cases destroy the insects
in the egg stage.
Massive infestation is rare today but there are still
substantial numbers of cases each year in which a few bugs are
found and with the greatly improved standards of housekeeping the
finding of a single bug will result in a call for disinfestation,
Evidence of infestation is not always found but if bugs or fleas
are found in any room which is being sprayed the adjoining rooms
are also treated. Cockroaches are also not uncommonly found,
particularly in some of the older premises and about one quarter
of the rooms treated were dealt with for this reason. A total
of 350 rooms in 104 premises were treated during I960.
In addition to the ordinary disinfection or disinfestation
of premises 47 filthy or verminous rooms were cleared after the
death or removal of the occupant.
There is still a demand for the disinfection of parcels
of clothing prior to dispatch abroad and 143 parcels belonging to
private individuals were disinfected to comply with regulations