Swine Flu Outbreak Could be Prevented With Air Purifiers

It seems like every sneeze in the office these days is followed by some kind of witty swine flu remark and general guffawing. I suppose that’s a good sign, since if the pandemic really had taken off there would have been general panic and nobody would dare joke about it. The rate of spread has until now been relatively quiet, given the potential wide spread. However it would be the height of stupidity for us to relax our guard on this matter. Obviously there’s still a real risk that this thing could blow up, even in a few months time. In the UK the health service recently distributed a leaflet to every household in the country about how to prevent the spread of swine flu germs.  This leaflet can basically be boiled down to one sentence: “always sneeze into a tissue, then throw it away, wash your hands and bathe yourself in a vat of boiling elephant milk”. (OK I made the last bit up). I guess my point is that if governments are willing to take their public education that far it means they too see it as a real threat, worth potentially upsetting us.

Well, tissues aside, a UK company that specialises in air conditioners has come up with a novel and potentially important way of preventing swine flu. According to JS Humidifiers’ blog, an air purifier could be effective in trapping and removing particles of swine flu virus from the air before it has a chance to spread.  Air purifiers are usually used to cleanse the atmosphere in a room of pollutants and impurities which cause allergic reactions and even respiratory diseases, as well as unpleasant odours.But with most purifiers, fitted with HEPA air filters, they can block particles as tiny as 0.3 micrometers. The minute particles that make up the swine flu virus are just like normal flu particles, at approximately 100 nanometers in size - an air purifier would be able to trap and stop these particles in their tracks.The purifiers that have an ultra violet lamp inside them are virtually guaranteed to stop the flu, as the UV light kills all airborne viruses.

This is really a remarkable discovery. Imagine if, rather than counting on people to make sure they don’t spread their germs to others, you could take the germs out of the air altogether with some strategically placed air purifiers in schools and workplaces! Perhaps the UK government could consider this as part of their strategy for dealing with the spread of the virus. And maybe this summer when you are considering buying a portable air conditioner for the home or workplace, you might think about cleansing the air as well as cooling it.