The Ionic Air Purifier Blog - Latest Comments

Re: Ionic Air Purifiers & The Bird Flu Myth

MinEn — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:36:09 -0000

Thanks for your very detailed and useful comments.

This blog is not advertising since we are not affiliated to any brand of purifiers, Sharp included.

I am equally anxious to see scientific evidence of any commercial product that makes bold claims.

You will see from my post on Safety of Ionic Air Purifiers ( see http://www.ionic-airpurifiers.com/ionic-air-pur... ) that I have a very healthy skepticism about ionic air purifiers.

My readers will note the detail I went into questioning the safety to human tissue of not only any harmful by-products of any ionic air purifier technology but I question even the beneficial reactive agents as well, be it negative ions, bipolar ions or plasmacluster ions. No one on the web seems to consider these two distinct safety aspects in their ionic air purifier reviews.

For the record, at his juncture, I am not recommending any particular brand or model.

By way of background, my blog has its basis in the fear I saw in my country in 2003 when SARS hit and killed 33 people.

What actually started me writing was Sharp's bold announcement that its air purifier had a 99.9% efficacy in eliminating the H5N1 virus in the laboratory ( see http://www.ionic-airpurifiers.com/plasmacluster... ).

Before anyone reading this rushes out to buy a Sharp air purifier, the lab test was done using an ion generator spewing 50,000 ions/cm3. As far as I know, this ion generator is not commercially available at this time.

But imagine having a safe haven at home, or at work while the bird or any other harmful virus is rampaging. I would certainly welcome it. During the SARS crisis, wearing the N95 for long hours prove to be quite unbearable, especially in the humid conditions in Singapore.

Writing the blog also led me to read more about the bird flu pandemic. I realized that governments are making intensive preparations. But what surprised me (but not you or your readers, I am sure) was that they will not be vaccinating everyone and there will be a priority scheme. There will be a long queue.

I also realized that no authority is making any provisions for air purifiers, whether for public buildings or for individual families in their homes. This is despite corporations like Sharp and the Korean Seung Chang Airtek Co (among many others I'm sure I'll find in due course) claiming that their air purifiers are effective against the bird flu virus.

Digging deeper into the Sharp annoucement on 27 Aug 2008 (http://www.sharp-world.com/corporate/news/08082...), you will see that Sharp's claim has been verified by:

"Professor John Oxford is Scientific Director of Retroscreen Virology Ltd and Professor of Virology at St Bartholomew’s and the Royal London Hospital, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry. He has co-authored two standard texts: ‘Influenza, the Viruses and the Disease' with Sir Charles Stuart-Harris and G.C. Schild and most recently, "Human Virology, a Text for Students of Medicine, Dentistry and Microbiology", published by Oxford University Press. Professor Oxford has also published 250 scientific papers. His research interest is the pathogenicity of influenza, in particular the 1918 Spanish Influenza strain. This research has been featured on Science TV programmes recently in the UK, USA, Germany and Holland."

Impressive credentials but not necessarily enough like you say, in life-and-death issues. I can't agree more.

Furthermore, Ms. Susan Chu of http://www.newfluwiki2.com ( see http://www.newfluwiki2.com/showDiary.do?diaryId... ) has also pointed out to me that whilst Sharp's claims have been presented at various conferences, it has not been peer-reviewed. I agree it is critical that such bold claims have to be checked out.

But my point is - how do we turn skepticism of commercial claims into proactive energy to urge governments or whoever has the resources to check out these claims?

Lay persons have no way of verifying the bold claims of big corporations. Governments must step in with their resources to test the claims, so that the masses can benefit when the real test comes.

After all, governments have endorsed other commercially-produced anti-bird flu products such as:

(1) the N95 respirator is produced by 3M Corporation
see http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW0163...

(2) the Tamiflu vaccine is produced by Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant.

Why won't they look at an ionic air purifier, or more specifically an ion generator, that can provide a much safer environment, be it at work or at home?

I believe there is something of hope, quite apart from huge profits, in the bold claims by Sharp. If the claims are real, I do not begrudge Sharp their profits just as I do not for Roche or 3M. Merit deserves to be rewarded. Commercialization is not always a dirty word.

For the good of all of us, I hope there will be some among my readers who are in positions to influence those in authority to check out the claims about ionic air purifiers and generators, be they from Sharp, Seung Chang Airtek Co or whoever.

Thank you.

Re: Ionic Air Purifiers & The Bird Flu Myth

Qaz — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:18:41 -0000

Do you have any peer review studies demonstrating ionic air purifier benefits for mammals challenged by any influenza virus compared with unprotected mammals? Editorials, commentaries, and adds are interesting, but on these life and death issues, people don't want to waste money on ionic air purifiers without evidence-basad assurance that people and/or test animals exposed to highly contagious (currently, seasonal flu) viruses will, infact, be protected from infections. This blog should either present or solicit citations to meaningful tests rather than merely "preach to the choir by merely quoting highly-credible sources re: the gravity of today's pandemic threat. Please disclose the hard data and/or the need for scientific data demonstrating the tested value of ionic air purifiers against seasonal flu viruses and/or HPAI (highly pathological avian influenza) viruses. Readers want to see evidence, not advertising.

Re: The Ionic Air Purifier Blog & The Stock Market - What Do They Have In Common?

MinEn — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:03:40 -0000

Hi Alice,

Good of you to share!

Feel free to let us know the exact model that you are using. We have no preference or bias for any particular air purification technology or brand. We simply want to know as much as we can so that all our readers can benefit from actual user experiences.

True HEPA air purifier technology forms the basis of all reliable traditional air purification systems. It is for this reason that many ionic air purifiers include a True HEPA filter to enhance the overall effectiveness of their purification system. We believe the main difference is that ionic purification technologies make the bold claim of destroying airborne contaminants like viruses and bacteria as opposed to merely filtering them out of the air.

Do update us, right through spring and beyond, and whenever you discover new benefits from your new HEPA air purifier.

Thank you!

Re: The Ionic Air Purifier Blog & The Stock Market - What Do They Have In Common?

alicestars — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:59:51 -0000

I love my new HEPA air purifier. I bought it because spring has come early this year in Texas. Now I can sleep through the night without sneezing.

Re: Plasmacluster Ions - The One & Only Reliable Ionic Air Purifier Against Bird Flu Pandemic Fears?

Air Purifiers — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:08:25 -0000

Clean Air adds years to your life. wake up america!

Re: Ionic Air Purifier Technologies - Friend or Foe?

Air Purifiers — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 04:29:01 -0000

A good information on Ionic Air Purifier Technologies.

Thanks for posting.
Lucy

Re: Plasmacluster Ions - The One & Only Reliable Ionic Air Purifier Against Bird Flu Pandemic Fears?

Living Off The Grid — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:45:33 -0000

Yet another reason for everybody to stop burying their heads in the sand. How long will it take be fore people start to realise that the way we are currently living is unsustainable ? The sooner we start to prepare the better able to cope we will be.