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
City of London 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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Following a report that the Order was not being complied with in that a dog was allowed to
walk from an aircraft to the passenger lounge at Heathrow Airport, letters were addressed to the
airlines concerned.
Animals (Sea Transport) Order 1930 - Horses (Sea Transport) Order 1952
To ensure that the terms and conditions of the above Orders were complied with, numerous
visits were made to the docks in connection with the exportation of animals to various countries.
The animals comprised 11 pigs, 3 donkeys, 1 pony, 8 cattle, 8 horses and 12 calves and were
exported for exhibition, breeding, racing and riding. In some cases instructions were given that
humane killers and ammunition must be obtained before animals could be allowed to travel and
these instructions were carried out.
Export Certificates
Requests were received from fourteen firms for certificates of health to enable them to
export various commodities. 107 certificates were issued.
Rabies Order 1938
As a result of the case of rabies in a dog in Camberley, Surrey, many enquiries were received
from the general public and investigations carried out into suspected cases of the disease in the
London area. In one case a restriction notice was served on a dog which had been in contact with
another dog that had since died. This was withdrawn after tests on the dead dog had proved
negative for rabies. Several restriction notices were served by the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food and checks were made to ascertain that these were being conformed to.
FOOD INSPECTION 1969
The total amount of foodstuffs detained for examination and either condemned as unfit for
human consumption and destroyed or otherwise disposed of under guarantee and supervision was
2094 tons 4 cwt. 2 qrs. 5 lbs.
The following is a summary showing methods of disposal:—
| Weight 1969 | Comparable Weight 1968 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnt | 51 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 74 | 11 | 2 | |
| Buried | 496 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 779 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| Contractor | 17 | 13 | 1 | 20 | 36 | 12 | 1 | 19 |
| *Other Districts | 155 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 195 | 12 | 2 | 21 |
| *Animal Feeding | 1214 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 188 | 19 | 3 | 26 |
| Re Exported | 158 | 19 | 0 | 11 | 307 | 10 | 1 | 24 |
| Totals | 2094 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1583 | 1 | 0 | 27 |
Items marked * were released with the agreement of and under the supervision of local
Medical Officers of Health.
Of the 2094 tons listed above the principal items and methods of disposal consisted of:—
| Burnt | Tons | Cwts |
|---|---|---|
| 309 Tins, 285 Cartons, 15 Jars of fruit, fish, meat, vegetables, pulps, juices - burst, blown, leaking and broken | 1 | 16 |
| 7 Bags Lentils — Contaminated sweepings | 2 | |
| 40 Bags, 72 Boxes and Cartons beans - Rodent damaged, stained and wasty | 1 | 18 |
| 205 Bags Onions — Oil stained, loose collected, wet and crushed | 12 | |
| 56 Boxes Potatoes — Wasty.. | 11 | |
| 1905 Baskets, 159 Cartons, 40 Packages Tomatoes — smashed, broken, wasty and oil stained | 15 | 0 |
| 112 Cartons, 29 Trays and 7 Cases Melons — Wasty, smashed and broken | 1 | 8 |
| 112 Bags Figs — Vermin infested, wet and stained | 1 | 10 |
| 35 Cartons Apples — Contaminated by hydraulic fluid | 11 | |
| Quantity Bananas — Wasty and fire damaged | 19 | 3 |
| 9 Cartons Cheese — Dock water damaged | 2 | |
| 1 Cask Ginger — Gross contamination | 2 | |
| 65 Cartons Spaghetti - Vermin infested | 16 |