Ionic Air Purifier – Japanese Plasmacluster Ions Technology Leads The Charge Against Lethal Bird Flu Virus

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.

As we have been constantly reminded by the press, bird flu is the prime suspect to cause mankind’s next pandemic. Pandemic does not just sound terrifying. It is. That’s when a deadly virus turns totally global, in a very negative sense. It boggles my mind that the 1918 Spanish Flu may have killed 50 million people on earth! World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on 5 October 2005 that the 1918 Spanish flu was caused by H1N1, a bird flu virus.

Do I have your attention now? Is it time to PANIC?

Not now. Updated on 10 Sep 2008, WHO statistics shows the death toll at 245 from 1996 when the H5N1 virus was first identified in China. So what’s the fuss? Mutation of the bird flu virus to achieve 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. Should the dreaded virus mutation take place, you can expect pandemonium on a global scale.

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 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? With Sharp’s Plasmacluster Ion Air Purifier, that is exactly what is promised.

The next obvious question for the value-conscious, 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. Hey, that’s great value for money! How is it possible in this nothing-is-for-free world?

Sharp says that its definitely possible. Using 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.

Any feedback on the competitor numbers would be greatly appreciated. Please drop me a note if you have actual experience.

In the meantime, I’m going to investigate intently the Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology. Now is the time to research, while bird flu is still not quite at pandemic proportions.

Its never too soon to get ready. I know. 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 those of you who did not hear of it, it was the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus that hit 8,096 people around the world and resulted 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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