On 27 August 2008, Sharp Corporation issued a press release that may someday be recognised as the true beginning of mankind's war against bird flu! 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.
With increasing regularity, the press reminds us that bird flu is the prime suspect to cause mankind's next pandemic. Pandemic sounds terrifying. It is. That’s when a highly contagious virus goes global, in a very negative sense. The 1918 Spanish Flu that killed 50 million people worldwide is the worst pandemic in human history! That was blamed on the H1N1 virus which was only recently confirmed on 5 October 2005 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be a bird flu virus.
Now that I have your attention, is it time to PANIC?
Not now. "Only" 245 people infected by the H5N1 virus, as per WHO data as at 10 Sep 2008, have died since 1996 when it first surfaced in China. So what’s the fuss? A bird flu virus that attains human-to-human transmission capability is the ultimate horror of the scientific community. To the knowledge of WHO, there has been only one probable case of human-to-human transmission recorded in Thailand in September 2004. Should the dreaded virus mutation take place, you can expect pandemonium on a global scale.
With increasing momentum. many countries are conscientiously preparing for the worse (more on this in a later post). As protectors of our families and loved ones, we should start doing some homework too.
Ok, so what’s all this got to do with Sharp’s ionic air purifier. Isn’t it 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. But if we can get protection from all these and more in one ionic air purifier, especially one that is a tested defense shield against a potentially deadly virus, why not? That's what Sharp is claiming, get the all-in-one package with their Plasmacluster Ion Air Purifier.
Obviously, for the value-conscious, the next logical question would be “yes, that makes a whole lot of sense but at what cost”? At no extra cost, Sharp claims! Sharp contends that over a 5-year period, it is cheaper than any other competing ionic air purifier. Now, that’s value for money! 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. At first sight, the typical competitor's upfront cost of US$160 looks cheap compared to Sharp's US$399. But add in the annual replacement filter replacement costs of US$100 and the total outlay for the competing ionic air purifier comes to US$560.
I would greatly appreciate any feedback on both sets of numbers above. Do let me know if you have recent actual data.
Meanwhile, I'm going to scrutinise intently the Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology. Especially since bird flu is still not quite at pandemic proportions.
Join me in my quest. Fear etches itself deep in my psyche. Recall the last disaster movie when you saw people with terror in their eyes, many with the famed N95 face mask covering their noses as they commute to work. But it was no movie but real life in motion in many Asian cities. Those who could not find the scarce N95 face mask could only pray that they were not the next victim of the near-pandemic scenario that swept across Asia. In case you have not heard, the year was 2003. The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus originated 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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