Swine flu outbreak generates windfall for healthcare firms

WHILE most Irish businesses are bracing for the swine flu pandemic, the disease has resulted in an unexpected boost for two healthcare firms in the south.

OB Hygiene Ltd has reported an 11% surge in sales of an innovative hygiene product called Activ8. The Cork-based company has ordered extra supplies from Britain to cope with expected demand.

Activ8 is a non-toxic, environmentally safe hygiene product that can be used in gels or wipes, or dissolved in water. It is used in front-line infection control to halt the spread of MRSA, avian flu, Sars, clostridium difficile and other pandemics.

OB Hygiene Ltd’s managing director, John O’Brien, who supplies Active8 to hospitals, hotels, schools, creches around the country, said fears about swine flu has resulted in a spike in demand for the product.

And another Cork-based international business is hoping to make thousands of euro from a swine flu protection pack set to go on sale later this month.

Carrigtwohill-based Audit Diagnostics is planning to market the defence against the virus at a cost of €20 per customer.

Chief executive Michael O’Donovan said that while elements of the hygiene kit were already available before the emergence of swine flu, he decided to switch the project to focus specifically on the widespread infection after a trip to London earlier this summer.

The product – which will include a hand wash, spray, specially-designed infection prevention tissues and a face mask – is currently undergoing the final stages of marketing, but if it proves to be a success in Ireland plans are in place to launch the product worldwide later this year.

“This kit will protect against the three main ways the virus would spread, namely from hands, from surfaces and from sneezing,” Mr O’Donovan explained.

“At the moment we have alcohol products for hygiene issues like MRSA, but they only last for two minutes. The versions we have would last for six to 12 hours.

“We have a pack of 10 tissues that kill the infection, and a spray that will last for seven days.

“And we also have products for high-risk areas like face masks, which protect against coughing or sneezing,” he said.

Despite suggestions the marketing of the upcoming protection kit was an opportunistic move at a time when fears over the virus are continuing to grow, Mr O’Donovan said the business plan took a back seat to the need to ensure the public will be adequately defended against the infection.

“Everything is opportunistic in some ways, but the only way this virus can be controlled is if people are protected,” he said.

Since the first case of swine flu in Ireland was confirmed in early May more than 1,600 people are believed to have contracted the virus nationally.

In the week between August 19 and 26, the incidence of swine flu was 37 per 1,000, official figures from the Department of Health said.

The numbers are similar to those given by GPs who say they have diagnosed over 1,500 cases in recent days.