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The verminous bedding and clothing were taken to the
Disinfecting Station and steamed, and the verminous rooms
fumigated or sprayed, and, where necessary, notices were served
upon the owners to cleanse and strip the rooms if vermin were
afterwards found present.
It will be seen from the above table that most of the children
who made voluntary attendances at the Cleansing Station during
1932 came from clean homes, and in these circumstances some curtailment
of the visiting of these homes by the Sanitary Inspectors was
indicated.
It has now been arranged, therefore, that visits should not be
paid to the homes unless the condition of the children upon examination
at the Cleansing Station is so verminous that it is necessary
for them to be bathed and cleansed.
There were also 96 notices received from the London County
Council in respect of children suffering from scabies, and 11 notices
from hospitals in respect of out-patients. Nineteen cases were
referred for treatment by private practitioners. The bedding in
these cases was disinfected on receipt of information and again
10 days later.
In addition to the cleansing of verminous rooms or premises by
owners and tenants after service of notice by the Sanitary
Inspectors, 1,079 rooms at 817 premises, where neither tenant nor
owner could be shown to be directly responsible, were cleansed of
vermin by spraying by the staff of the Public Health Department.
During the year, owing to the difficulties in obtaining reliable
insecticide and the apparatus with which to apply it, arrangements
were continued to loan hand-sprayers and sell insecticide at cost
price to owners and tenants in order to assist them in clearing their
premises of vermin. Material to the value of £188 7s. 8d. was sold
for this purpose. This consisted of 3,166 pints of insecticide and
363 sprayers loaned or sold.
Rats and Mice Destruction Act, 1919.
The number of complaints received during the year of premises
being infested with rats was 454. These complaints were effectual!}