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In January, 1940, the Ministry of Health issued Circular No.
1942 which drew attention to the fact that it is particularly important
during the war that sanitary authorities should actively pursue
lines of preventive action as regards scabies and lousiness, and
memoranda on the control of these conditions were issued with that
Circular. Notwithstanding the special attention directed by local
authorities to this problem, verminous conditions have increased
and it became necessary for the Minister of Health to make an Order
(Scabies Order, 1941), under Defence Regulation 33A, giving local
authorities power to inspect premises in which persons found to be
verminous are or have been accommodated, to require persons who
are or have been accommodated therein to submit themselves for
examination and to secure the cleansing or treatment of such persons
found on examination to be verminous, and the cleansing, treatment
or destruction of articles which are or are likely to be verminous by
reason of having been used by or in contact with persons found to be
verminous.
For many years past the Council has provided cleansing station
facilities and at that station verminous school children have been
cleansed under the control of the London County Council's school
nurses, and adults and children under school age have been cleansed
by the Borough Council's staff.
During 1941 the bathing facilities provided at the station were
improved and extended in order to cope with the increasing number
of persons requiring attention.
The steady increase during 1941 in the incidence of verminous
conditions, particularly of scabies, can be seen from the graphs
reproduced on pages 31 and 32. In view of this increase in the
number of cases of scabies, a Health Visitor was seconded as Sisterin-Charge
for the treatment of adults and pre-school children at the
Cleansing Station, the County Council's nurse continuing to supervise
the treatment of school children. This Health Visitor has the