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Burial or Cremation of the Dead.—Arrangements were made to give effect to the provisions of Section
50 of the National Assistance Act, 1948, under which it is the duty of the Council to cause to be buried
or cremated the body of any person who has died or been found dead in the Borough where no other
suitable arrangements for disposal of the body have been or are being made. Between the 5th July,
1948, when the section became operative, and the end of the year the burial of four bodies was
undertaken by the Council.
Disinfestation.—During the year a campaign against the bed-bug was launched on a scale greater
than any hitherto attempted. This was made possible by increased knowledge in the field of
disinfestation brought about mainly by wartime conditions and centred more particularly round the
use of D.D.T. (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and improved methods of application to verminous
premises. Unlike many other disinfestants, D.D.T. is a stable substance and possesses distinct
advantages in the eradication of the bed-bug and other insect pests. Used in a 5 per cent. concentration
in kerosene, D.D.T. has been found not only to possess an immediate killing effect on bugs but to leave
on walls and other surfaces a lethal deposit which remains effective for at least several weeks and
possibly very much longer. The best known method of application of the solution is by means of a
fine whirling spray under constant pressure, obtained by the use of a compressor unit driven by a
petrol engine. To convey the apparatus, including the necessary hosing, to premises to be treated a
special van is provided and two driver-operators are engaged to transport and operate the power
unit. Wherever verminous conditions are found the new method is put into operation and extended,
where necessary, after surveys of adjoining properties have been made. Circular letters are sent to
owners and occupiers giving full information of the scheme, inviting their co-operation and notifying
date and time the intended disinfestation is to be carried out. Detailed records of all work done are
being kept and will be reviewed from time to time to ascertain the degree of efficacy attained. With
the additional facilities provided by this special service, which is under the supervision of one of the
sanitary inspectors, 419 dwellings, involving 987 rooms, were dealt with in the summer months. In
addition, 116 other dwellings (including 24 requisitioned premises and 2 municipal flats) where bugs
were found were disinfested during the year. Inspections of requisitioned properties for the presence
of vermin were requested by the Housing Director in many instances to ensure, where necessary,
disinfestation of vacant rooms before repairs and redecoration were carried out in readiness for a new
tenant.
Treatment of verminous furniture by hydrocyanic acid gas (HCN) which has been carried out, in
specially constructed vans, under contract by the Council for many years, has been continued, more
particularly in the case of removals to fresh housing accommodation. In 1948 the furniture of
248 families (of whom 227—including 72 families coming into the Borough from other districts—were
rehoused) was dealt with by this method. In this limited sphere the process has given most successful
results, but there are disadvantages and possible danger which preclude its application to house
property in a built-up area.
Verminous Persons.—The Council's Cleansing Station in Lisson Grove dealt with 1,671 vermin-infested
persons : adults 518 (men 449, women 69); children 1,153 (boys 283, girls 870).
Shelter.—The shelter accommodation provided at No. 217 Lisson Grove, under section 195(4) of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1936, for families temporarily dishoused was used for a total of 11 nights
while disinfestation of dwellings was being carried out, one family and four separate persons occupying
the accommodation for periods ranging from one to five nights.
Rats and Mice.—Complaints received numbered 907, and 63 food and 642 other premises were found
to be infested. Of the 63 food premises, 29 were shops, 29 hotels and restaurants and 5 clubs ; the
642 other premises included 353 dwelling houses, 87 shops, 108 warehouses and stores, 14 factories,
18 hospitals and institutions, 57 offices, 2 garages and 3 bombed sites. Where necessary, rat-proofing
was carried out at infested premises. The chief methods employed for the extermination of rats were
poison baiting and trapping, and the work was carried out on the lines recommended by the Ministry
of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Sewer treatments were applied in January and July. For this work the Borough is divided into
three districts each having about 20 miles of sewers. Each district is operated by two sewermen
with a van and driver. For the first two days the entrances and manholes are pre-baited with rusk
and on the third day the poison is deposited. Recording of the "takes" is made on each following
day. During the progress of the work visits are paid by an Inspector from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The dates on which the baiting is done are agreed by the No. 4 London Workable Area Committee
in order that similar work in adjoining Boroughs may be co-ordinated. As a result of this half-yearly
systematic treatment of rat infestations in sewers it was computed that, in St. Marylebone, 1,495
rats were killed in January and 1,570 in July.