Traders are cashing in on the H1N1 scare by selling masks at inflated rates, but health officials say they can't be bothered to monitor what happens at the medical stores
Traders are cashing in on the H1N1 scare by selling masks at inflated rates, but health officials say they can't be bothered to monitor what happens at the medical stores
No government department has any clue about what it should do about the flu, but the private sector is cashing in on the scare by selling masks that can't stop a thing.
The N95, manufactured by 3M, is the only prescribed mask which can check the spread of the disease. It is a disposable multi-layer mask that ensures 95 per cent filtering.
Doctors say patients and people around them need to use at least a three-layered mask. But N95 is not easily available in Bangalore, although one pharmacy on St Mark's Road said it had just received 20 pieces.
Patients and hospital staff in most hospitals are banking on single-layer surgical masks, which is close to useless.u00a0
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NOT ENOUGH: Medical staff at M S Ramaiah Hospital wear simple surgical masks, which they know can't protect them from swine flu. pic\Ramesh HS |
Making profits
"In an ordinary situation, the mask costs just about Rs 8, but now traders and pharmacies are charging up to Rs. 40," said a doctor at M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital.
He said it was time the government stepped in and put a regulatory system in place.u00a0
Clueless
Srinivasachari, health commissioner, state department of health, said, "It is not our priority and we are not considering the idea of monitoring the distribution of the masks. People must be aware of the quality of the goods they are buying." The N95, he said, is required only for doctors. "Normal people can use any mask," he added.
Usha Vasankar, health director, state department of health, said, "The government is supplying N95s to government hospitals and the drug controller can monitor the quality of masks sold at the pharmacies."
However, Dr Jaga Shetty, drugs controller, said, "We can't monitor masks as they aren't drugs."
Big business
Pharmacists are seeing sales like never before. "In normal situations, we used to sell around 10 masks a month, but now more than a hundred are sold in a day," said the owner of Manju Medicals in Domlur. Earlier, sweepers and hospital staff were buying masks, but now everyone wants one. "The supply is not matching the demand," he said.
A salesman at Sunitha Medical Stores, in the same neighbourhood, said, "School children are asking for double masks as their teachers have asked them to wear two at a time."
We're not sure
When MiD DAY visited M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, nobody was wearing an N95. "We are using ordinary surgical masks as the N95 isn't available," said Naresh Shetty, medical director of the hospital. "Something is better than nothing." However, he said supply was expected shortly.
Dr Karunakar B P, a pediatrician,u00a0 was in Canada when the United States and its neighbours witnessed the worst outbreak of the disease. He said, "They followed some standards in using N95. They checked the suitability of the mask before it was given to a person. In India we need to learn to comply with such standards."
Shashidhar Buggi, director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, saw no problem with the supply. He said, "I can say we have sufficient stocks of the masks. I can not comment on the situation in other government hospitals however."
A doctor in the same institute contradicted the statement:u00a0 "There is no stock of the standard masks and we are using ordinary surgical masks like in all other hospitals."
(With inputs from Manju Shettar)
