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 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]
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During 1955, 286 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 21 blocks which were surveyed.
| Complaint | Block Survey | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business premises inspected | 389 | 740 | 1,129 |
| Dwelling houses inspected | 255 | 265 | 520 |
| Local authority premises inspected | 8 | — | 8 |
| Business premises treated | 93 | — | 93 |
| Dwelling houses treated | 131 | 2 | 133 |
| Local authority premises treated | 5 | — | 5 |
| Business premises, inspection visits | 324 | 740 | 1,064 |
| Business premises, treatment visits | 744 | — | 744 |
| Dwelling houses, inspection visits | 195 | 262 | 457 |
| Dwelling houses, treatment visits | 1,013 | 18 | 1,031 |
| Local authority, inspection visits | 3 | — | 3 |
| Local authority, treatment visits | 36 | — | 36 |
| Total visits | 2,315 | 1,020 | 3,335 |
| Estimated kill (rattus norvgicus) | 119 | — | 119 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus norvegicus) | 62 | — | 62 |
| Estimated kill (rattus rattus) | 315 | — | 315 |
| Bodies recovered (rattus rattus) | 89 | — | 89 |
| Estimated kill (mice) | 1,613 | 17 | 1,630 |
| Bodies recovered (mice) | 324 | 7 | 331 |
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,
which consisted of direct poison baiting using 1 % by weight sodium monofluoroacetate
in damp sausage rusk, have been carried out at three-monthly intervals since October, 1951.
They were discontinued after July, 1955, as it was thought unlikely that further useful
information could be obtained by continuing the experiment. The Ministry have kindly
supplied the following summary of the results obtained during the past year:—
Treatment
No. of
sites
baited
No. of
sites at
which bait
was eaten
% of sites
at which
bait was
eaten
No. of
bodies
recovered
No. Date
14. Jan., 1955
15. April, 1955
16. July, 1955
226
226
228
59
66
55
26.11
29.20
24.13
33
36
40