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Unscrupulous businessmen are making fortune out of swine flu panic in the country after disposable surgical masks are sold at three times higher than the price of such a preventive device, reports BSS.
A number of pharmacies today said the mask importers and wholesalers in city’s Mitford area sold a mask of Tk 3 at Tk 10 yesterday, but the price has gone up further with its poor supply.
“We have bought a dozen of China-made surgical mask at Tk 35 on Monday, Tk 70 on Tuesday and Tk 120 today. However, the masks are almost out of market since this evening,” said a pharmacist of the city.
He also said the demand for masks has gone up sharply after the death of the country’s first swine flu case on Sunday night. The demand for drug has also risen, although the government repeatedly said it has more than enough stock of antiviral.
“We have ordered for the antiviral capsule of Square Pharma, which costs Tk 1,850 for 10 capsules,” Shafiul Haque Nipu, owner of Abhijit Pharmacy in city’s Shahbagh area, said.
“Masks are being sold in bookstalls at Nilket, replacing books by masks because of high profit margin,” added Dr Pinaki Bhattacharya, a pharmacist, at a roundtable on swine flu in the city today. The Daily Bhorer Kagoj organised the function at the Jatiya Press Club.
Pinaki said the country might experience a highest number of 100,000 flu cases in next four months, but the government has a stock of 900,000 capsules to treat infected people with mild attacks. He said the people should not pay heed to rumours and be panicked. Country Director of WaterAid Bangladesh Dr Khairul Islam said overemphasis were placed on symptomatic treatment and drug procurement, but little attention has been given to strategic communication and campaigning.
Steps should be taken to change behaviour of the people, 80 per cent of whom do sneeze, cough and spit at open places without protection.
Official sources today confirmed 12 new cases of swine flu, totaling the number at 259 since the first case was detected on June 18. Initially most of the cases prevailed among people coming from abroad, but later the epidemiology has shifted to community level infections.

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