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
Paddington 1956
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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23
CANAL BOATS.—During the year the Paddington Basin and
its vicinity were visited on a number of occasions and ten boats were
inspected. It was not found necessary to serve any formal notices.
Only one child of school age was found to be living on the boats
inspected.
RODENT CONTROL.—The following table gives details of the work carried out under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act, 1949 and at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, relates to the year ended 31st March, 1957.
| Dwelling Houses | All other property | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of properties in district | 31,444 (24,685) | 7,803 (4,737) | 39,247 (29,422) | |||
| Number of properties inspected as a result of— | ||||||
| (a) Notifications | 516 (528) | 100 (101) | 616 (629) | |||
| 164 (156) | 29 (36) | 193 (192) | ||||
| Number of properties found to be infested by rats— | ||||||
| 2 (1) | - (-) | 2 (1) | ||||
| 207 (210) | 38 (50) | 245 (260) | ||||
| Number of properties found to be infested by mice | 249 (234) | 58 (48) | 307 (282) | |||
| Number of infested properties treated by Council | 451 (440) | 95 (97) | 546 (537) | |||
It was not found necessary to serve any notices. Two (4) "block
control" schemes were carried out. The variation in the number of
properties is due to the revaluation of the Borough.
Sewer Treatment:—
During the year the normal treatments of the sewers were
carried out in January and June. While it is not suggested that rats
will be completely eradicated from sewers, these twice yearly
treatments do prevent an increase in the rat population and, to a
limited extent, reduce it. A measure of the success of the treatments
is the fact that the filtering screens at the pumping stations have
to be cleared of rat carcasses during and immediately after sewer
treatments.
It follows, therefore, that sewer treatments can never eliminate
surface infestations. One litter of rats born near a disused or
defective drain can cause a serious surface infestation. Unfortunately,
as far as Paddington is concerned, there are many old.
disused and defective drains which the rats may use and constant
surveillance and treatment by the Council's Rodent staff is required
to keep infestations under control.