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
Surbiton 1957
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Surbiton]
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The following is a summary of the several treatments carried out since disinfestation of sewers commenced in 1943:-
| Date | Description | No. of Manholes Pre-baited. | Takes of Pre-bait. | No. of Manholes Poison baited. | Takes of Poison Bait |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1948 | 1st Initial treatment | 218 | 77 | 77 | 31 |
| July 1948 | 2nd " " | 77 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| February 1949 | 1st Maintenance treatment | 80 | 49 | 49 | 18 |
| July 1949 | 2nd " " | 71 | 20 | 21 | 7 |
| March 1950 | 3rd " " | 58 | 41 | 41 | 21 |
| July 1950 | 4th " " | 41 | 20 | 22 | 13 |
| February 1951 | 5th " " | 57 | 17 | 17 | 35 |
| August 1951 | 6th"" | 35 | 14 | 14 | 6 |
| February 1952 | 7th " " | 69 | 36 | 36 | 15 |
| July 1952 | 8 th " " | 58 | 14 | 14 | 4 |
| February 1953 | 9th" " | 54 | 13 | 13 | 8 |
| February 1954 | 10th " " | 47 | 16 | 16 | 8 |
| August 1954 | 11th " " | 16 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| December 1955 | 12th " " | 21 | 18 | 18 | 14 |
| December 1956 | 13th " " | 61 | 52 | 52 | 38 |
| May 1957 | 14th " " | 49 | 15 | 13 | 8 |
| May 1957 | 14th " " | – | - | 4+ | 2 |
| November 1957 | 15th " " | 36 | 13 | 13 | 9 |
| November 1957 | 15th "" | – | -- | 18+ | 9 |
‡ Direct poisonining with Zarfarin.
Opportunity was taken during the 14th and 15th Maintenance Treatments to experiment in part of the sewer
system" with the" extended pre-baiting technique recommended by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
using either sausage rusk or pin-head oatmeal with the addition of paranitrophenol as a preserving agent.
At the same time a trial was made in another area in the direct poisoning method using Warfarin. In both
cases results were considered to be very satisfactory.
48.