By LIM CHIA YING and JADE CHAN

SEVERAL private pharmacies have been doing brisk sales of face masks and hand sanitisers in light of the A(H1N1) influenza, a random check found.

Several pharmacists in Kuala Lumpur said their stock of face masks and sanitisers have been snapped up rather quickly, particularly over the last two weeks.

However, most of these retailers still have enough supply for customers compared to the bigger chain of pharmacy stores which had run out of masks and sanitisers on Saturday.

In demand: Peh with the Dettol hand sanitisers sold at her store.

Some attribute this to recent media reports about the deaths as well as heightened awareness aong the public to protect themselves.

At the Alchemist Pharmacy in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, pharmacist cum manager Peh Mui Lee said she noted an increase in the number of people buying face masks and hand sanitisers over the last two weeks.

“We are not out of stock yet and are sourcing for supply.”

A check at the pharmacy found just a few bottles of the 50ml Dettol instant, rinse-free hand sanitisers left.

Peh said she had already placed orders for more supply.

A staff also said the N95 loop masks were still available but that they had run out of the ones with strings to tie (for those wearing scarfs).

At the Zenith Pharmacy in the same neighbourhood, pharmacist S.P.Lau said there were suppliers who still had stock while some did not.

Lau, 45, said more customersbought the normal surgical masks for daily use as it was cheaper.

Over at Sri Hartamas in Kuala Lumpur, Vitamedic Pharmacy Sdn Bhd owner and pharmacist Noraliza Ayub, 45, said her supplier had been replenishing stocks quickly and as such there was no shortage to date.

At the Vital & Living Pharmacy, pharmacist Jeannie Lee, 25, said they had no more face masks and hand sanitisers and that orders for both have been made.

Asked if the store would put up notices informing customers about running out of stock, Lee said this was not necessary as supply would arrive soon.

“As most face masks in the market are currently manufactured in China, we are trying to bring in masks manufactured in Hong Kong.”

Meanwhile, in Petaling Jaya, there is now a high demand for face masks and hand sanitisers as consumers scramble to take the necessary precautions against the disease.

A check at several pharmacies and personal care stores in Petaling Jaya found that the larger outlets like Guardian and Watsons were running low on supply or were out of stock, while the private pharmacies in areas like Dataran Sunway (Kota Damansara), Damansara Uptown (Damansara Utama) and SS2 still had stock available.

The sales assistants at the Guardian and Watsons outlets said most of the face masks and hand sanitisers were snapped up by customers the very same day the items arrived.

While all had ordered additional supplies, they also said that they had no idea when the new stock would arrive.

The price range for the three-ply face mask is from 50 sen to RM1 per piece, while the price range for the N95 face mask is from RM5 to RM10 per piece.

Most pharmacies and personal care stores had sold out their in-house brand hand sanitisers or those produced by reputable companies but the Hovid QuicKlean type was still available.

Bright Care Pharmacy at Damansara Uptown had a variety of face masks on display at their counter, including a four-ply type with active carbon pre-filter that retailed at RM1.50 per piece.

The face masks are sold as individual units, in packs of 10, or in boxes of 20 to 50 pieces.