State-of-the-art Ionic Air Purifier - Overlooked Bird Flu CounterShield?
Japan is well-known for cutting edge innovations that often go unnoticed by the Western world. But Sharp Corporation’s press release on 27 August 2008 cannot be ignored! Incorporated in its ionic air purifier, the Plasmacluster Ion Technology (more on this in a later post) has just been scientifically proven to be 99.9% effective in destroying the bird flu virus known as H5N1.
As we have been constantly reminded by the press, bird flu is the prime suspect to cause mankind’s next pandemic. Pandemic does not just sound terrifying. It is. That’s when a highly contagious virus goes global, in a very negative sense. History records for us that 50 million people may have died during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic! That deadly killer flu was confirmed on 5 October 2005 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be caused by H1N1, a bird flu virus.
Now that I have your attention, is it time to PANIC?
Not now. Statistically, as recorded by WHO as at 10 Sep 2008, “only” 245 people have died from the H5N1 virus. This is since 1996 when the virus first surfaced in China. So what’s the fuss? The greatest nightmare for scientists monitoring the bird flu virus is to see it attain human-to-human transmission capability. As of now, there has been only one probable case of human-to-human transmission recorded in Thailand in September 2004. Without a doubt, there will be global pandemonium if the dreaded virus mutation happens.
Like other countries, Singapore (where I live) is conscientiously preparing for the worse (more on this in a later post). At the individual level, we should start making preparations too.
Ok, so what’s all this got to do with Sharp’s ionic air purifier. Is it not just another ionic air purifier? Yes, because it takes care of the usual pollutants (dust, dirt, smoke, dander, pollen, cuisine odors, pet odors, allergens etc) that contaminate the air that we breathe and live in. If there is really a tested defence shield against a deadly virus, why not? And that is precisely what Sharp is telling us; get the whole package with their Plasmacluster Ion Technology.
The next obvious question for the value-conscious, would be “yes, that makes a whole lot of sense but at what cost”? According to Sharp, none at all! They go so far as to say it may in fact be cheaper than any other ordinary ionic air purifier when measured over 5 years. A case of over-delivering by Sharp? How is it possible in this nothing-is-for-free world?
With the Plasmacluster Ionic Air Purifier Model FP-N40CX as the basis, Sharp contends that it is great value for money as there is no filter replacement costs for the first 5 years. Upfront costs at US$399 for the Sharp model is higher than the typical competitor’s US$160. But the latter requires annual filter replacement costs of US$100, adding to a total cost of US$560 over 5 years.
If you have relevant data, be it on Sharp or the competitors, I would greatly appreciate your input. Feel free to drop me a note if you have actual data.
In the meantime, I will study the Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology more closely. Now is the time to research, while bird flu is still not quite at pandemic proportions.
Don’t procrastinate. I have been there. Imagine thousands of frantic people going from drugstore to drugstore looking for the same face mask. The N95 mask was touted as the only effective weapon as a near-pandemic scare gripped Asia. The year was 2003. SARS was a much dreaded acronym. The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus started spreading in Asia and infected 8,096 people around the world, resulting in 774 fatalities. As always, being prepared is half the battle won.
Watch this space as we track exciting developments in our pursuit of safe, pure and clean air with nothing more than an ionic air purifier.
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