Every year, the flu sweeps through Mark's school, causing numerous absences among students and staff. As a high school teacher of ten years, Mark has learned to avoid the miserable illness by getting an annual flu shot. But the majority of Americans don't bother mainly due to unconcern. Most people believe they are not at risk or consider influenza not to be a serious illness. However, in the United States, approximately 36,000 citizens die each year from the flu and 200,000 more require hospital admission. Experts are frustrated by American apathy toward combating the spread of influenza. This year, these experts worked to make more vaccine available to U.S. citizens than ever before, knowing that the most effective defense against contracting the flu is through vaccination. Still, these 100 million available doses are not enough to immunize the 180 million U.S. citizens most at risk: children under the age of five, adults over the age of fifty, women who are pregnant, and people afflicted with chronic conditions, such as asthma or diabetes. Due to a shortage of vaccine and general indifference toward the flu, other prevention methods must be considered to reduce the threat of influenza. One such measure comes in the form of UV air purifiers. For years, scientists have known that the ultraviolet rays in natural sunlight are the main sterilizers of air pollution and have utilized ultraviolet light bulbs in places such as hospitals and homeless shelters to sanitize confined air. This manmade ultraviolet germicidal light supplies even more intense and more concentrated UV rays than those of natural sunlight. This preventative measure is especially important during the seasons of autumn and winter when flu viruses spread rampantly as people are confined to buildings and packed together in places with reduced ventilation. Because not everyone follows the general guidelines for reducing the spread of disease (washing hands regularly, disinfecting surfaces, coughing/sneezing into a sleeve, staying home when ill, etc.), ultraviolet light is an important safeguard. With the use of UV air purifiers, viral epidemics, such as the flu, can be eradicated as ultraviolet light destroys viruses and prevents them from replicating. Influenza, a respiratory infection, is most often spread when an infected person sneezes or coughs into the air; these droplets are then breathed in by others. UV air purifiers work to clean the air so that it is made uncontaminated and safe for breathing. This outcome is accomplished through the use of ultraviolet light bulbs, which actually destroy dangerous pathogens such as the influenza virus. As air passes through the purifier, the rays from the ultraviolet germicidal light mutilate the DNA of the microorganism, essentially causing its death. Ultraviolet germicidal light is, in fact, recommended by the Centers for Disease Control as a way to prevent and control contagious diseases. Each year, the influenza virus changes and scientists create a vaccination to counteract this change. If a sudden, radical change took place in the virus, a pandemic (the occurrence of a disease to which people have slight or no immunity) would occur. Here, ultraviolet light bulbs provide an additional safeguard: they do not discriminate between viruses but naturally kill any dangerous microorganisms in their paths. Since the 1930's, ultraviolet light has been studied as a way to sterilize air, and because influenza is an infection which passes from person to person most often through the air, ultraviolet germicidal light is extremely effective against this miserable and dangerous illness. Ultraviolet light bulbs most often need only be bought once and can add to general health as ultraviolet light not only kills viruses but also destroys bacteria, mold spores, allergens, and chemical irritants. Influenza is not an illness one can be apathetic toward, but ultraviolet air purifiers can help combat indifference and add to peace of mind.
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