Antibiotics, cough syrup fly off shelves in flu season in West Bengal

KOLKATA: With a clutch of viruses triggering a spurt in flu-like symptoms and respiratory illnesses, sales of a section of antibiotics along with oral rehydration solutions have gone up significantly at the pharmacy retail counters. Apart from Kolkata, a sharp rise in sales of these medicines has also been seen in the adjoining districts of Howrah and Hooghly.
"There has been a big jump in the demand for medicines of the azithromycin group, followed by cefpodoxime.Some doctors are prescribing medicines that are a cocktail of the two. Clarithromycin is yet another medicine prescribed by the doctors and has a high demand now," said Rajendra Khandelwal of Dhanwantary Pharma.
While azithromycin is used to treat bacterial infections like bronchitis and pneumonia, cefpodoxime is used to treat infections of the airway tubes leading to the lungs. Clarithromycin is also effective in treating lu-ng infections.
According to Sajal Ganguly, secretary of the Bengal Chemists and Druggists Association (BCDA), apart from Kolkata, infections are also being reported from adjoining districts like Howrah and Hooghly that have pushed up the demand for antibiotics and respiratory drugs. But there is no shortage in supply. "Doctors are also prescribing medicines like montelukast and antihistamines like levocetirizine. Paracetamol is also being prescribed for fever and mild body ache," he said.
Montelukast is used to control and prevent symptoms caused by asthma (wheezing and shortness of breath). Levocetirizine is used to relieve allergy symptoms like watery eyes, runny nose and sneezing.
Sales of inhalers like budesonide and formoterol fumarate, fast-acting bronchodilators like salbutamol and salmeterol are also in demand. "Inhalers are, however, in demand whenever there is a change of season. There is a spike in demand but I am not sure whether that can be linked to the adenovirus spread," said Somnath Ghosh of Metro Pharma.
According to Ghosh, cough syrups of different compositions, too, are flying off the shelves. "Cough syrups used for relief from dry cough are much in demand. Apart from medicines, sale of oral rehydration solutions has also been very high over the last fortnight," Ghosh said.
City pharmacists have also noted a renewed demand for masks that had dropped to almost zero. Sanitisers, which had near zero sales even a month back, are in demand again. These apart, multivitamin-multiminerals and immune booster nutritional supplements are also being sold at a brisk pace.