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Japan is well-known for cutting edge innovations that often go unnoticed by the Western world. But Sharp Corporation’s press release on 27 August 2008 cannot be ignored! 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 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! 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.
PANIC STATIONS! PANIC STATIONS?
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? The greatest nightmare for scientists monitoring the bird flu virus is to see it attain human-to-human transmission capability. 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.
As the threat grows day by day, countries around the globe 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. Is it not just another ionic air purifier? Yes, because it takes care of the usual pollutants (dust, dirt, smoke, dander, pollen, cuisine odors, pet odors, allergens etc) that contaminate the air that we breathe and live in. 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? With Sharp’s Plasmacluster Ion Air Purifier, that is exactly what is promised.
Obviously, for the value-conscious, the next logical question would be “yes, that makes a whole lot of sense but at what cost”? Per Sharp, not a penny more! 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?
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 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.
In the meantime, I’m going to investigate intently the Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology. Especially since bird flu is still not quite at pandemic proportions.
Today is the day to get started. I know. It was like a horror movie that ran for months. Paranoia abounded in crowded places even as people commuted to work on buses and MRT trains. Taxis cruised empty as stories were told of the infected travelling in them to hospital. It was near pandemonium in many Asian cities as pandemic fears took hold. 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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