| Press Release: August 2003 1/3 |
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In February of 2003, newspapers began reporting a rapidly spreading atypical pneumonia.Now identified as severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS, this highly contagious condition is caused by a new coronavirus for which there is no specific antiviral treatment.While the epicentre of the outbreak was China,the disease spread quickly across Asia and North America (especially Canada) with a total of 32 countries and areas eventually reporting cases. |
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for
SARS, the most effective strategy is control. While it is the WHO's first
objective to seal off opportunities for international spread of this deadly
disease,many health-care institutions are looking for additional infection
control measures that will help them to contain infections in the event
that the corona-virus once again flares up in an outbreak The Hong Kong Case One of the institutions that was particularly keen to implement special engineering controls as an additional precaution strategy in the fight against SARS is the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HKHA). The authority currently manages 43 public hospitals, 47 specialist outpatient clinics and 13 general outpatient clinics.During the SARS crisis Hong Kong was one of the worst affected areas with 1755 reported SARS cases (376 of which concerned health-care workers), resulting in a total of 300 deaths. In view of these huge losses, the HKHA was determined to find a way to effectively contain the SARS virus in case the disease should resurface. The Selection Process  Mark Lau of the EMSD resting the actual filtration effienciency of a non-certified air cleaner with a laser particle conter. The majority of air cleaners failed the test. In order to find the most efficient, reliable, flexible and cost effective solution the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) of the Hong Kong Government performed rigorous tests on behalf of the HKHA.They evaluated the suitability and performance of many filtration systems, including IQAir®.With the help of a laser particle counter the EMSD tested the actual filtration efficiency of each filtration system |
| Press Release: August 2003 2/3 |
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 Assessing the actual filtration efficiency of an air cleaner with a laser particle counter. The efficiency tests quickly verified that most of the sistems fell well short of the removing airborne particulates with an actual efficiency in exvess or 99.97% for particles of 0.3um and larger. With it's certified and independently type-tested filtration efficiency IOAir® passed this test 
Each
IOAir®
HEPA filter system is individually tested for filtrationn effienciency and
air delivery. The actual test results are documented on a numbered test
certificate. After the preliminary selection process, it was the EMSD's aim to select an infection control system that could be put into action in a matter of minutes and that would be able to effectively limit the threat of airborne disease transmission from a SARS patient to health-care workers by providing reliable and certified actual filtration performance. Thanks to the professional support of a Hong Kong based authorised IQAir® dealership and IQAir®'s previous experience in the field of hospital infection control (see previous IQAir® press release "Decentralised airborne infection control in health care facilities"), IQAir® was able to develop a tailor-made infection control solution for the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. 
Testing the IQAir® in location.Artificial smoke is generated on ahospital
bed and then captured at source with the help of the IQAir® FlexVac's
flexible suction arm. |
After weeks
of testing and the installation of several trial systems the HKHA finally
chose IQAir® as the only filtration solution for SARS patient rooms.
To equip the scores of hospitals under the authority of the HKHA, several
hundered systems are required. The selected IQAir® filtration system
consists of the IQAir® HealthPro® Plus/250 model connected to
the IQAir® FlexVac mobile source capture system and a special air
exhaust that enable the filtered air to be directed. The customized
IOAir® filtration solution for the Hong Kong Hospital Authority combines
on IOAir® filtration system with flexVax source capture kitl |
| Press Release: August 2003 3/3 |
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IQAir® systems are in use at many world-leading health-care and research institutions, including: |
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For
further information of IQAir® advanced filtraion systems, please contact: |
Until
August 2003, an estimated
In the case of a SARS emergency, the self-contained mobile
IQAir® filtration system can immediately be positioned next to the
SARS patient's bed. The flexible suction arm is positioned near the patients
face to capture airborne droplets that are expelled by coughing and sneezing.
The contaminated air is then drawn into the system and filtered in a 3-stage
filtration process. At the final filtration stage IQAir®'s independently
type-tested HyperHEPA® filter will remove even the tiniest of airborne
particulates, including the SARS virus, with a minimum efficiency of 99.5%.
As a result the risk of infection within the patient's room can be greatly
reduced, thus providing a safer working environment for health-care personnel
and reducing the possibility of spreading of the disease.