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Strand District Bond of Works.
REPORT
on the
DISINFECTION OF ROOMS,
by the
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,
In my Annual Report for 1897 I mentioned that I had for
some time been engaged in a series of experiments, with the view of
determining whether any better method of disinfecting rooms could,
with advantage, be substituted for fumigation by burning sulphur,
which has been suspected to be unreliable in its action, and I hoped
to be able to submit a report on the subject during 1898. I now
beg to do so.
The object of applying disinfectant agents to rooms after cases of
Infectious Disease is to destroy the organisms which are the cause
of such disorders, and which are distributed throughout the rooms
during the course of the disease. We know that many preserve
their vitality for long periods, especially when protected, even to a
slight extent, from the action of sunlight and air. Articles of
clothing, carpets, bedding, &c., are retentive of these organisms, and
are removed for treatment by steam, which effectually destroys all
danger of infection, but the dust which is left behind in the room