In India, the recent swine flu epidemic has dramatically increased sales of hand sanitizers. From Express India:
Over the past week, demand for antiseptic hand wash has doubled and manufacturers are finding it hard to cater to the demand. “We are running out of stocks across all our pharmacies in the country,” says Jasminder Singh, regional sales manager for Himalaya Healthcare products.
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Such is the demand-supply gap that pharmacies are turning back customers due to shortage. “There is a 70-per cent increase in demand of these sanitisers,” says Ramamoorthy, CEO, Apollo Pharmacies, which operates 75 pharmacies across Delhi.
Besides reducing the spread of the H1N1 virus, another positive benefit from this is the increased awareness of Indians on matters of public health and hygiene. The Indian healthcare system is more about reaction than prevention but this could help change the trend.
i think that in asian countries the Swine Flu did not spread rapidly compared to those countries that are located in colder climates. we should still be very thankful that the swine flu did not cause massive infections.