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75
Legal Proceedings.
Resulting from the 365 statutory notices served on owners under the
nuisance abatement procedure of the Public Health Act, 1936, in 3 instances
it was necessary to institute legal proceedings to secure compliance therewith.

RODENT CONTROL
Extracts from a Report by the Medical Officer of Health to the Public Health
and Establishment Committees.
Reference.
Council Minute 1051—September, 1953.
RESOLVED: That the Medical Officer of Health submit a report to
the Public Health Committee and this (Establishment) Committee as to the
duties carried out by them (Rodent Operatives) during the next six months
and on the rodent situation in the Borough generally.
Introductory.
When the above Resolution was passed by the Council last September,
my intention was to submit a short report to comply with the terms of
reference, but in the intervening six months the need for a more comprehensive
report has become evident for these reasons:—
(a) The existence of mistaken beliefs, apparently widely held, regarding
the nature of rat infestation and the need for rodent control.
(b) The large amount of leptospiral infection found in rats recently
caught alive in Leyton.
(c) The presence of black rats (Rattus rattus) in our sewers.
(d) The occurrence of three recent subsidences in Leyton roads due
to the collapse of underlying sewers.
(e) The disclosures, regarding the state of sewerage and drainage in the
Borough, contained in the last monthly report of the Borough
Engineer and Surveyor to the Public Health Committee.
(f) My duty as Medical Officer of Health to advise you of the widespread
surface infestation likely to follow any relaxation in our measures
for rodent control, and the probable need for intensification of our
efforts in the direction of rodent control pending the rehabilitation
of the Borough's main drainage system.