Since
the death of the Nigerian nurse, who was among those who attended to the
Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, who brought Ebola virus to Nigeria from
Liberia, panic-stricken Nigerians have resorted to ways of preventing the
killer virus.
One
of these, among others, is the use of hand sanitisers after health authorities
advised that Nigerians should maintain hygienic lifestyle, including washing of
hands frequently, to prevent the disease. Following this, the prices of hand
sanitisers have gone up astronomically as people are in mad rush for the
products.
There
are 10 confirmed cases of Ebola disease in Nigeria while about 177 people who
may have come into contact with the virus are being monitored or isolated in
Lagos, health minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu, said on Monday.
The
death toll from the highly contagious Ebola disease has
climbed to 1,013 since
it was discovered in Guinea in February, according to the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
Antibacterial
hand sanitisers are marketed to the public as an effective way to “wash one’s
hands” when traditional soap and water are not available.
Uche,
a supervisor at GVS supermarket located at Amuwo Odofin, said that Lagosians
were in mad rush for hand sanitisers. According to him, “In the section
currently, we have run out of stock especially Dettol hand sanitiser and the
supplier says it is not in the market now.”
Benedicta
Dickson, a supervisor at Leadmart supermarket in Festac, revealed that
Lagosians have been patronising the shopping mall for hand sanitisers.
Benedicta said, “For now they have Dettol which sells for N1050, 50ml as
against N950 or N1000 in some other shops, Germ free sells for N980, 60ml while
250ml sells for N2900. The Lovillea jelly cologne (small size) is N420 while
the big size sells for N500. Forever Living Product of hand sanitiser sells for
N2500.”
Patience
Ugwu, a front desk attendant at CareForte Pharmacy at Apapa, noted that the
demand for hand sanitiser is on the rise.
At
GB store in Ejigbo, Lagos and adjoining pharmacy the same story was relayed to
BusinessDay.
At
JustRite megastores, Otta, Ogun State, the attendants said the products are
unavailable because people came in droves to buy out their stock.
In
Benin, some pharmaceutical stores have run out of the product thereby
necessitating those that are in need to ask for the product outside the state
capital.
A
visit to Zero Pharmaceutical Stores along Airport Road in Benin shows that the
Dettol brand of instant hand sanitiser has gone out of stock while only few
bottles of Temizleme Jeli brand were available in the stores.
A
source at the pharmaceutical store said the product has suddenly become a fast
moving consumer good following the introduction of Ebola virus into the
country.
According
to him, “We just finished the sales of the ones we have in stock few days ago.
A bottle of Dettol brand was sold at N450. But just yesterday we bought this
new brand called Temizleme Jeli instant hand sanitiser. The cost is N800 and we
finished selling about two out of the three cartons we bought.”
In
some major supermarkets and pharmacies in Abuja, according to an online
newswire, the products are either unavailable or their prices have gone up.
At a
popular supermarket and pharmacy, H-Medix, at Wuse 2, there were no hand
sanitisers as at the time of visit. “We don’t have hand sanitisers now. The
products are scarce. The demand for them is very high now. You know it is
because of this Ebola thing,” one of the store attendants said.
“Before,
the price of some of the hand sanitisers we sell was about N300, but now we
sell the small bottle for N500.” At the Amigo supermarket, which is in the same
axis as H-Medix, the products were also unavailable. An attendant said: “Hand
sanitisers are scarce now, but we will have the products soon. One small bottle
is N650 now; before, it was N350. Demand determines the price.”
The
hand sanitiser scarcity is as a result of the World Health Organisation (WHO)
and Federal Ministry of Health’s advice on sanitary regulations as one of the
preventive measures of the EVD should soap for frequent hand washing not be
available.
Onyebuchi
Chukwu, minister of health, said that hand sanitiser does not kill bacteria or
viruses but makes the human hand inhospitable to them.
BusinessDay
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