Sharp Corporation issued a seemingly ordinary press release on 27 August 2008. But I believe the information therein will one day gain global prominence! 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 sounds terrifying. It is. That’s when a highly contagious and deadly 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 deadly killer flu was confirmed on 5 October 2005 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be caused by H1N1, a bird flu virus.
Red Alert! Time to PANIC?
Not quite, not yet anyway. WHO data, updated as at 10 Sep 2008, shows the death toll to be only 245 since records were kept from 1996 when the H5N1 was first identified in China. So what’s the fuss? Scientists monitoring the virus fear that it may mutate into a form that transmits from human to human. Currently, there has been only one probable case of human-to-human transmission recorded in Thailand in September 2004. If indeed the much-feared virus mutation takes 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). At the individual level, we should start making preparations too.
Ok, so what has the Sharp ionic air purifier to do with all this. Is it not just another ionic air purifier? Yes, it's ordinary in that it takes care of the usual stuff that we look for in an air purifier – 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? That's what Sharp is saying, get the all-in-one air purifier with their Plasmacluster Ion Air Purifier.
If you’re value-conscious like me, the obvious question would be “yes, that makes a whole lot of sense but at what cost”? No extra cost, Sharp claims! Sharp contends that it is cheaper than any other ordinary ionic air purifier when measured over 5 years. Great value for our hard-earned 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 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.
Since I have only started on this study, I would greatly appreciate any feedback on the numbers quoted by Sharp. Feel free to drop me a note if you have actual numbers.
My next move would be to seriously investigate the Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology. Especially since bird flu is still not quite at pandemic proportions.
Its never too soon to get ready. Personal panic does not fade. 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. For the uninitiated, it was the year 2003. The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus originated in Asia, infected 8,096 people around the world before finally 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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