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
St Pancras 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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Library books and articles which would be injured by steam are disinfected by formaldehyde
generated in a small chamber.
Separate motor vans are used for the collection of infected and delivery of disinfected
articles.
The work done during the year by the disinfecting staff is shown in the following table:—
| Disease. | No. of cases. | No. of bouses. | No. of rooms contents disinfected or destroyed. | No. of rooms sprayed and fumigated. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 819 | 805 | 318 | 305 | ||
| Diphtheria | 596 | 575 | 590 | 608 | ||
| Enteric Fever | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | ||
| Puerperal Fever | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| „ Pyrexia | — | — | — | — | ||
| Erysipelas | 48 | 48 | 48 | 9 | ||
| Cerebro-spinal Meningitis | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | ||
| Measles | 19 | 10 | 8 | 9 | ||
| German Measles | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | ||
| Pneumonia | 4 | 4 | 4 | - | ||
| Dysentery | 26 | 26 | 22 | 5 | ||
| Scabies | 189 | 152 | 164 | 5 | ||
| Tuberculosis | 110 | 110 | 44 | 105 | ||
| Vermin | 213 | 212 | 109 | 242 | ||
| Polio-myelitis | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Malaria | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | ||
| Continued Fever | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Other Diseases (not notifiable) | 387 | 337 | 338 | 33 | ||
| Totals | 1873 | 1800 | 1654 | 1340 | ||
The following table gives the number of articles disinfected or destroyed during the year on account of infectious disease or verminous conditions : —
| Infectious Disease | Verminous. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destroyed. | Disinfected. | Destroyed. | Disinfected. | |||
| Beds, mattresses and palliasses | 38 | 1888 | 10 | 505 | ||
| Bolsters and pillows ... | 4 | 4505 | 8 | 801 | ||
| Sheets, blankets and counterpanes | 2 | 6551 | 6 | 1112 | ||
| Rugs, mats, cushions, carpets, | 4 | 1553 | 1 | 289 | ||
| covers and curtains | ||||||
| Wearing apparel | 7 | 2783 | 21 | 871 | ||
| Books ... | _ | 504 | — | 24 | ||
| Sundries | 1 | 1680 | — | 286 | ||
| Totals | 51 | 19464 | 41 | 3872 | ||
The tables above are exclusive of the disinfection of the clothing of persons who
attended the cleansing station on account of being infested by vermin or suffering from scabies.