October 29th, 2008 by PetGuru
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 eliminating 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 does not just sound terrifying. It is. That’s when a highly contagious virus goes global, in a very negative sense. It boggles my mind that the 1918 Spanish Flu may have killed 50 million people on earth! 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.
If fear is gripping you right now, is it time to PANIC?
Not quite, not yet anyway. 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? 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. Don’t be surprised by the global pandemonium in the event that the dreaded virus mutation actually occurs.
Quietly but conscientiously, many countries are 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 has the Sharp ionic air purifier to do with all this. Is it not just another ordinary 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. If there is really a tested defence shield against a deadly virus, why not? That’s what Sharp is claiming, get the all-in-one package 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”? According to Sharp, none at all! Sharp asserts that it is cheaper than any other ordinary ionic air purifier when measured over 5 years. Hey, that’s great value for money! But, how is this possible in this nothing-is-for-free world?
Well, in promotional materials, using the Plasmacluster Ionic Air Purifier Model FP-N40CX as the basis, Sharp contends that it is much better 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.
If you have relevant data, be it on Sharp or the competitors, I would greatly appreciate your input. Just email me 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.
It’ll be way too late when that hits. 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. 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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