• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

SANYO Donates Air Purification Systems Effective Against Flu Viruses to New York Airports and Schools

Posted on: Tuesday, 26 May 2009, 10:45 CDT

Some Recipients have recently faced H1N1 Flu Outbreaks

JAMAICA, N.Y., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- SANYO Biomedical and Environmental Solutions (SANYO), a division of SANYO North America, announces the donation of professional-use air purification systems to provide an added level of safe, healthy air for areas where people gather indoors in the North American market. The first recipients to receive the donated SANYO 'Virus Washer' professional-use air purification systems are school Health/Nursing Offices in Queens, NY, where recent outbreaks of H1N1 flu have caused several school closings. In addition, Medports at JFK and LaGuardia Airports operated by Dr. Brian Dalia, Executive Director and Dr. Gerald Surya, MD Medical Director, will be receiving donated units. The Medports are the medical offices located inside the airports responsible for care and evaluation of ill or injured travelers and employees.

"Given the recent circumstances with the new type of H1N1 flu, we decided to increase the speed of our North American outreach while benefiting entities in need, where the threat of outbreaks seems to be increased," said Toshiaki Inoue, Division President, Biomedical and Environmental Division of SANYO North America. "These donations will also expedite the introduction of the technology to North America, creating an ideal situation and offering a potential solution to help suppress airborne viruses and bacteria."

With future plans to bring SANYO's proprietary electrolyzed water technology utilized in the 'Virus Washer' air purification system to effectively "wash the air" to North America, New York will become the pilot market with school Nurse's Offices and the Medports at JFK and LaGuardia Airports the first to use this cutting-edge technology.

One unit has already been donated to the Office of Nurse Mary Pappas at St. Francis Preparatory in Fresh Meadows, Queens. The next unit will be donated to The Mary Louis Academy (TMLA) in Jamaica Estates, NY. TMLA is a Catholic all-girls school that has successfully taught women leaders for the past 73 years. They are a nationally known school of excellence and enroll 975 young women from all different areas of NYC and Nassau.

"We are grateful to Sanyo for their concern for the health of all members of our community. This type of business-school cooperative is a wonderful step toward future collaborative ventures. Any initiative that seeks to protect the health of the students ultimately touches all of society," said Sister Kathleen McKinney, Principal of TMLA.

Dr. Gerald Surya, MD Medical Director of the Medports at JFK and LaGuardia recognizes the potential benefits as well. "At both Medport offices, we see all sorts of illnesses, not just the recent H1N1 influenza. We have reviewed the technology and its use of electrolyzed water to inactivate human viruses. This is not only a way for us to ensure we are taking the necessary steps to protect travelers and staff against airborne contaminants, but this is also an opportunity for us to be on the cutting edge of technology."

SANYO's electrolyzed water technology has been tested and proven effective in suppressing airborne viruses, bacteria, odors, allergens and mold through global third party certification institutions including RTI, whose testing certification can be viewed at http://www.sanyobiomedical.com/certification . The technology has also been proven effective in suppressing a number of influenza strains, including Avian or bird flu and the seasonal flu. In addition, electrolyzed water has proven effective in significantly reducing the level of viable airborne viruses, according to an independent research institution in the US. This research study included tests using bacteriophage MS2, commonly used by the scientific and testing community as a representative virus, which roughly approximates the aerosol-related physical characteristics of human viruses. Independent testing in Japan and other countries has also demonstrated that electrolyzed water has the unique ability to inactivate human viruses.

"Electrolyzed water technology employed to treat the air in the SANYO 'Virus Washer' inactivates more than 99% of airborne viruses and bacteria from the treated air," explains Deepak Mistry, Strategic Marketing Manager in SANYO's Biomedical and Environmental Division.

By only using tap water and electricity, there are absolutely no harmful chemicals. The hydroxyl radicals and hypochlorous acid contained in electrolyzed water work together to destroy the protein spikes on the surface of the virus. This prevents the virus from attaching to and infecting healthy cells. The commercial-use 'Virus Washer' VW-VF10BG air purification system uses an 'Electrolyzed Water Disinfecting Element' to inactivate viruses and other airborne microbes and particles. Electrolyzed water runs over the air purification element in the 'Virus Washer'. Indoor air is then forced to circulate through the element, inactivating airborne viruses which pass through it.

SANYO turned to The Medical Society of the County of Queens to help them identify possible schools that would be interested in receiving these units. SANYO currently has allocated several units that are available for donation.

If any School Nurse's Office is interested in obtaining a sample unit, they should contact SANYO at 1-800-858-8442 or go online and fill out a submission form at http://www.sanyobiomedical.com/vw . Donations will be performed on a first come-first served basis.

For more information on the virus washer technology visit http://us.sanyo.com/vw .

About SANYO

SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. is a multi-billion dollar, global leader in providing solutions for environment, energy and for lifestyle applications based on its brand vision, 'Think GAIA'. SANYO Biomedical and Environmental Solutions (a division of SANYO North America Corporation, a subsidiary of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.), based in Wood Dale, IL, provides laboratory equipment for pharmaceutical, life science and biotechnology applications. Product lines include space-efficient V.I.P.(R) ultra-low temperature freezers, cryogenic freezers, pharmaceutical and medical refrigerators, cell culture incubators, plant growth chambers, and portable autoclaves. For more information, visit http://us.sanyo.com .

SOURCE SANYO North America

Source: PR Newswire

More News in this Category