Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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convenient means of securing the disinfection of bedding, &c., used by the verminous persons,
chiefly school children, dealt with at the cleansing station. The new Act was promoted as the
result of a Conference on the subject called by the London County Council on February 25th,
1922, at which the views of the St. Pancras Borough Council were expressed by the Medical
Officer of Health, who also gave evidence at the House of Commons in support of the Bill.
The procedure which has been adopted in St. Pancras is as follows:—Every morning a list
is received from the Matron of the cleansing station of all cases of scabies and body lice and all
bad cases of head lice, and a notice is sent by post forthwith to the responsible person informing
him that the Council's staff will call for the bedding and clothing used by the verminous person.
Next day these articles are fetched from the house by the disinfecting staff, and after disinfection
are returned on the same or following day. This procedure was brought into operation on
October 17th, 1922, and by December 31st, 35 such notices had been served and the disinfection
carried out. No difficulties arose, and the procedure appears to be having a salutary effect.
TUBERCULOSIS.
The number of notifications of civilian cases of tuberculosis received during 1922 are set
out in the following table, in the form required by the Ministry of Health:—