The Health Biz

In a dramatic press update on 27 August 2008, Sharp Corporation unveiled its latest technological weapon 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.

Every now and then, 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. 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.

If fear is gripping you right now, 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? 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. Without a doubt, there will be global pandemonium if the dreaded virus mutation happens.

Countries are conscientiously preparing for the worse (more on this in a later post). As protectors of our families and loved ones, 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 ordinary 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. 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”? Per Sharp, not a penny more! Sharp contends that it is cheaper than any other competing 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?

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. Upfront costs at US$399 for the Sharp model is higher than the typical competitor’s US$160. But the latter requires annual filter replacement costs of US$100, adding to a total cost of US$560 over 5 years.

Any feedback on the competitor numbers would be greatly appreciated. Just email me if you have actual data.

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.

It’ll be way too late when that hits. Believe me, I have seen it. I remember my family, along with thousands of other frantic people, scrambling around town looking for the much-touted N95 face mask when the last near-pandemic scare took place in 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. 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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