A kind of new anti-SARS Chinese medicine protective masks has been
manufactured based on a medical research finding of a Chinese
mainland university and will be made available first in the Hong
Kong market in about 10 days.
At
a news conference to announce the new product Monday, Eddie Lau,
general manager of Profit Good International Limited, said the new
mask has been invented on the basis of the "L-F disinfectant"
invented by Luo Yan, a professor of Nankai University in Tianjin on
the Chinese mainland.
The new mask, named the AAD Professional Medical Mask, has been
certified by the related health authorities and universities in
Guangdong Province for its ability to dissolve the severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus by changing the virus into
nuclear migrated compounds, said Wilson Ronald, project consultant
for the product.
He
added that the product contains a disposable pre-treated carbon
filter, technically known as the ACF active carbon, that has been
dipped in the L-F disinfectant made from the extracts of more than
ten different anti-toxic Chinese herbal ingredients, said the press
release issued at the conference, stressing that the carbon filter
can last for 30 days of use.
So
far, the filter has received accreditation from the Hong Kong
branch of the Societe Generale de Surveillance for its
anti-bacterial activities against Staphylococcus Aureus and
Klebsiella Pneumoniae and its ability to inhibit the growth of such
bacteria, the press release said.
But Ronald said, "Endurance tests are being sought from the
departments of Microbiology at both the Cambridge University and
the University of Hong Kong to see if it could dissolve more kinds
of virus and bacteria."
The filter also boasts the size of 1.436nm and one gram of the "a/s
medium" is reported to be able to attract, through suction, the
smoke and toxicity level corresponding to those produced by 200
cigarettes, and it is also highly attractive to toxic and harmful
gas in air, such as sulfur dioxide, methanol, methylbenzol, phenol,
powder dust and visible objects, the press release said.
Stephen Cheung, director of Kwong Tai Department Store Ltd, told
Xinhua exclusively that the product will be made available in about
10 days from now at the two branches of the department store in
Aberdeen and Wong Tai Sin.
However, Eddie Lau said 10,000 sets of such products are ready to
be donated to the front-line medical personnel in Hong Kong.
Medical workers who need the mask may bring their post
identification and identity card for collecting one set for free
from the manufacturer.
The L-F disinfectant contains Chinese medicine including Fructus
Forsythiae, Lonicera Japonica Thund, Rhizome Cyrtomii, Radix
Scutellariae, etc.
(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2003)