Japanese Sharp Corporation releases a press statement on 27 August 2008 that did not grab any headlines. But one day, it may be on Page One of every newspaper on earth! 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.
Every now and then, 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. In 1918, an invisible bug is believed to have wiped out 50 million people during the Spanish Flu pandemic! 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 just yet. "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. 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.
Quietly but conscientiously, many countries are 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. Isn’t it just another ionic air purifier? It is ordinary in that it performs the usual functions of the run-of-the-mill air purifier by getting rid of dust, dirt, smoke, dander, pollen, cuisine and pet odours, pollutants, allergens etc. 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? 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”? Here again, Sharp claims that it's at no extra cost! Sharp contends that it is cheaper than any other ordinary ionic air purifier when measured over 5 years. Now, that’s value for money! But, how is this 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 US$399, the Sharp model compares favourably against a typical competitor's ionic air purifier that may cost US$160 upfront but over 5 years cost a total of US$560 due to annual filter replacement costs of US$100 each.
Any feedback on the competitor numbers would be greatly appreciated. Do let me know if you have recent actual data.
In the meantime, I will study the Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology more closely. Especially since bird flu is still not quite at pandemic proportions.
Join me in my quest. Experience is a good teacher. I remember my family, along with thousands of other frantic people, scrambling around town looking for the much-touted N95 face mask when the last near-pandemic scare took place in 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. Being well 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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