HC Deb 03 August 1883 vol 282 c1477
MR. BRINTON

asked the President of the Local Government Board, What steps, if any, have been taken to disinfect wools, and also carpets, rugs, and such like textile fabrics arriving in this Country from the East before allowing them to be distributed to the public?

SIR CHARLES W. DILKE

We have issued orders with regard to rags, which from past experience are known to be capable of conveying infection, though even they have not been known to have conveyed cholera. Steps for the disinfection of wools, carpets, rugs, &c., are not, in the opinion of the medical authority of the Local Government Board, necessary, and any proposed disinfection would interfere in a disproportionate degree with the trade in these commodities.