View report page

- 4 -
5 Church Passage,
Guildhall,
E. C. 2.
January, 1946.
To
THE WORSHIPFUL,
THE PORT OF LONDON HEALTH COMMITTEE.
Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report as Medical
Officer of Health of the Port of London.
Circular 60/46 of the Ministry of Health dated
20th March, 1946, directs as follows
"I am directed by the Minister of Health to say that he
has had under consideration the scope of the Annual
Reports to be made by Medical Officers of Health of
Port Health and Riparian Authorities for the year 1945.
The Minister desires that the Report for that year
should be prepared on the lines of memo.204/S.A., so
far as the information is available, and the advice as
to omissions given in Circular 1937 of 11th January,
1940, should be regarded as no longer applicable. It
is appreciated, however, that the available records may
not be sufficient to give full particulars under all
heads for 1945; where this is the case, the Authority
should take such steps to re-institute the normal
records for 1946 and future years".
One hundred and fifty-two cases of communicable
diseases (including malaria) were reported as having occurred on
vessels during the voyage of which 74 were landed in the Port.
Sixty-eight cases, of which particulars are given in
Appendix II (b), were admitted to Infectious Diseases Hospitals.
Although Denton Hospital was de-requisitioned by the
Admiralty in October the arrangements for the reception of
communicable diseases by Hospitals in the vicinity of the River,
was continued throughout the year.
The Disinfector, however, was still at the disposal of
the Authority and continued to be used for the disinfection of
cases arriving at Gravesend, their clothing, bedding and effects
No cases of human plague occurred during the year on a
vessel bound for London.
Of the 1,030 rats examined bacteriologically, 791 were
from vessels and 239 from shore premises. No rat was reported
be infected with Plague.
Two hundred and fifteen vessels were fumigated for
rodent destruction and the issue of International Certificates,
under the supervision of your Inspectors. Five were fumigated
sulphur dioxide resulting in the destruction of 265 rats and 2l0
by hydrogen cyanide accounting for 6,896 rats and 991 mice.
A total of 10,752 rats were destroyed during the coup
of the year, 7,522 in ships and 3,210 on shore premises in the
Port. In addition 1,973 mice were destroyed, 874 in ships and
1,099 on shore premises.