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)