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43
Verminous Persons.
589 persons were cleansed during the year and had their clothing disinfected—559
males and 30 females.
Disinfecting Station.
3,081 rooms were fumigated and the bedding, etc., were removed and
disinfected by steam. Of these, 2,368 rooms were fumigated because of
infectious disease, 221 as a result of pulmonary tuberculosis, and 492 because
they were verminous. In addition to these, scabies occurred in 274 families
and the bedding was taken away and disinfected by steam.
189,503 articles were disinfected. Of these, 116,036 were second-hand
articles of clothing for export abroad. 60,387 were from premises where
infectious disease occurred, and 13,080 because they were in a verminous
condition. 3,057 articles of bedding were destroyed with the owners' consent.
Overcrowding.
At two meetings of the Public Health Committee I submitted special
reports on overcrowding, giving particulars of gross overcrowding in 73
premises and asking for instructions as to what further action should be taken
beyond serving statutory notices. Many of these premises were illegally
occupied, being underground rooms, and many were indecently occupied.
In one case, in Bale Street, a man and wife with 2 sons and 2 daughters
above 12 years of age, and 4 children under 12, lived and slept in one room
of 1,120 cubic feet capacity. Ten persons lived in a room sufficient for 3 adults
only.
In a house in Ben Jonson Road, a man and wife with 5 children lived and
slept in one room.
In Caroline Street, in a room not large enough for 2 people, a man and
wife with 4 children lived and slept.
Two rooms in College Buildings were occupied by a man with 4 grown up
daughters and a grandchild. The eldest daughter, aged 21, had been to a
Sanatorium and to Brompton Hospital.
In a house in Copley Street one room was occupied by a man and wife
with 2 sons and 3 daughters.
A room in Dalgleish Street, sufficient for 2 adults only, was occupied by a
mother, 2 sons and 3 daughters.
Another room of a similar size, in Duckett Street, was occupied by a man
and wife with one son and 3 daughters.