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132
Metropolitan Borough of Poplar,
Public Health Offices,
Bow Road, E.
February, 1915.
Dear Sir, or Madam,
At the meeting of the Poplar Borough Council, held on 28th
January, 1915, the following resolution was passed by the Council—
That notices be circulated in the Borough pointing out the
necessity for sterilizing second-hand wearing apparel before use,
and undertaking such sterilization gratuitously, on application.
I have therefore to inform you that if you desire any secondhand
wearing apparel to be sterilized or disinfected, if you will apply
to these offices in writing, the necessary operation will be carried
out as promptly as possible.
Yours faithfully,
Fredk. Wm. Alexander,
Medical Officer of Health.
Itch Cases.
Six boys with itch were bathed and their clothes disinfected.
Miss Tattersall made 76 visits in connection with children suffering
from itch—20 Poplar, 33 Bromley and 23 Bow.
CLEANSING OF PERSONS ACT, 1897.
The Council is empowered by the Cleansing of Persons Act, 1897,
to give any person applying, on the ground that he is infested with
vermin, free use of any apparatus for cleansing his person and clothing,
and may expend any reasonable sum on buildings, appliances and
attendants for this purpose. Provision was made in 1905 for cleansing
verminous persons.
During the year 202 persons (including 190 from Common Lodging
Houses—see below) had applied for baths and for their clothes to be
disinfested. Since the notices were posted throughout the Borough, a
total of 5,478 persons, exclusive of non-residents, had applied for baths,
etc., as mentioned above.