27 August 2008 may prove to be a pivotal point in mankind's war against the much-feared bird flu pandemic. On that day, Sharp Corporation unveiled its latest technological weapon against the unseen enemy! 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 eliminating 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 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 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 quite, not yet anyway. WHO statistics (updated up to 10 Sep 2008) tracing back to 1996 when the H5N1 virus first surfaced in China shows a relatively low death toll of 245. So what’s the fuss? A bird flu virus that attains human-to-human transmission capability is the ultimate horror of the scientific community. 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.
Countries are conscientiously preparing for the worse (more on this in a later post). At our individual level, 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, 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. 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.
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 over a 5-year period, it is cheaper than any other competing ionic air purifier. A case of over-delivering by Sharp? But, how is this possible in this nothing-is-for-free world?
In promoting the Plasmacluster Ionic Air Purifier Model FP-N40CX, Sharp contends that it is definitely better 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.
I would greatly appreciate any feedback on both sets of numbers above. 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. The time to research is now, while bird flu is still not quite at pandemic proportions.
Don't procrastinate. I have been there. Like a horror movie, pandemic fears spread across Asia for months. People shunned crowded places like shopping centres, some stayed away from work, others became unofficial health "authorities" passing decrees on hygiene standards. Anyone who sneezed in public without a N95 face mask found himself standing alone in a split second. 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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