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
Holborn 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]
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During 1953, 331 complaints of rat or mice infestation were received and investigated.
The following table shows the work carried out during the year arising from the complaints received, and in connection with 13 blocks which were surveyed.
| Complaint. | Block Survey. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business premises inspected | 314 | 215 | 529 |
| Dwelling houses inspected | 219 | 210 | 429 |
| Local authority premises inspected | 8 | — | 8 |
| Business premises treated | 147 | 6 | 153 |
| Dwelling houses treated | 155 | 1 | 156 |
| Local authority premises treated | 5 | — | 5 |
| Business premises, inspection visits | 237 | 209 | 446 |
| Business premises, treatment visits | 1,292 | 75 | 1,367 |
| Dwelling houses, inspection visits | 172 | 209 | 381 |
| Dwelling houses, treatment visits | 1,292 | 8 | 1,300 |
| Local authority, inspection visits | 7 | — | 7 |
| Local authority, treatment visits | 42 | — | 42 |
| Total visits | 3,042 | 501 | 3,543 |
| Estimated kill (rattus norvegicus) | 74 | 30 | 104 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus norvegicus) | 30 | 15 | 45 |
| Estimated kill (rattus rattus) | 583 | 37 | 620 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus rattus) | 231 | 13 | 244 |
| Estimated kill (mice) | 1,533 | — | 1,533 |
| Bodies recovered (mice) | 281 | — | 281 |
Baiting of Sewers.
No rodent repression work in sewers was carried out during the year by the Council
owing to experiments in sewer maintenance treatments which were undertaken by the
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Infestation Control Division. The treatments have
been carried out at three-monthly intervals since October, 1951, and have consisted of
direct poison baiting using 1% by weight sodium monofluoroacetate in damp sausage rusk.
The Ministry have kindly supplied the following summary of the results obtained during
the past year: —
Treatment
No. Date.
No. of
sites
baited.
No. of
sites at
which bait
was eaten.
% of site;
at which
bait was
eaten.
No. of
bodies
recovered.
6 Jan., 1953 249 53 21.28 28
7 April, 1953 251 54 21.51 28
8 July, 1953 ... 245 40 16.33 42
Test-
bait. Sept., 1953 249 90 36.14 —
9 Oct., 1953 245 51 20.82 31