JS humidifies snake rooms

01 July 2009

JS Humidifiers has supplied and installed five Neptronic SKR steam humidifiers to the Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

The in-room humidifiers are installed in the snake rooms and each provides up to 5.5kg of steam per hour to maintain the required humidity for the health and comfort of the snakes.

Dr Robert Harrison, Head of the Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit, comments, “We have one Neptronic humidifier installed in each of our five snake rooms, as the humidity needs to be maintained at 50% relative humidity ±5%. The main species we are working with are saw-scaled vipers, puff adders and spitting cobras, as these snakes kill several thousands of people each year in West Africa.

“The anti-venoms we supply help save many lives and the humidifiers perform a small but vital function in this important operation. We used to use atomising humidifiers but they introduced dust to the atmosphere. Since the Neptronic SKR steam humidifiers were installed by JS about a year ago, they’ve been operating perfectly 24 hours, seven days a week and I am absolutely delighted with their performance.”

The Alistair Reid Venom Research Units' objective is to improve the treatment of snakebite around the world. Antivenom, the only effective treatment of snakebite, is immunoglobulin (antibodies) prepared from the blood of horses immunised with snake venom. Antivenom is expensive to manufacture and, because snakebite is primarily a medical problem of the rural poor communities in Asia and Africa, typically has very low profit margins. This has led to commercial production of antivenoms for Africa effectively ceasing in the late 1990s and a consequent dramatic rise in snakebite mortality.

In response to this the Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit imported medically important snakes from Nigeria, extracted the venom and sent it to antivenom manufacturers around the world. These manufacturers developed antivenom drugs which the Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit then shipped to Nigeria.

The Neptronic SKR steam humidifier can supply between 3.5 and 5.5kg of steam per hour directly to a room with an integral fan unit, or to a duct with steam pipes. It is easy to install and use, and requires only a single phase power supply.

The limescale that builds-up on the self-cleaning heating elements during operation falls to the bottom of the stainless steel boiling chamber, which can easily be drained, removed and emptied when required.

As well as supplying and installing the humidifiers at the Liverpool School Of Tropical Medicine, JS Humidifiers also has a Planned Maintenance Agreement in place to regularly service the units. Each JS Planned Maintenance Agreement is tailored to a site’s specific requirements, taking into consideration the length of humidifier operation, the water quality and the desired level of in-house maintenance. By servicing the humidifiers in this way they remain effective and efficient, whilst increasing their operational lifetime.

JS Humidifiers is the UKs' largest humidification company with the widest range of products and offers a service of advice, design, supply, installation and maintenance. It also offers a comprehensive range of humidifier spares, not only for JS equipment but also for a large range of different manufacturers’ humidifiers, mostly available ex-stock.

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JS humidifies snake rooms

01 July 2009

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