Irish-made surgical masks are being rushed to Hong Kong and the Far East to aid the battle against SARS.
Irish-run manufacturer of surgical masks Irema Ireland has had to cancel staff leave to cope with a massive increase in orders from Asia since the outbreak of the SARS virus.
"We had to ask staff to cancel leave over the Easter holidays and we don't know as of yet about the summer; we're looking for more people" said Irema Ireland managing director Mr Diarmuid Herbert.
The Limerick-based company produces surgical masks for use in hospitals and dental surgeries, but since the outbreak of SARS it has picked up new customers.
Producing 320 polypropylene filter masks a minute, Irema made 1.5 million masks last week alone.
"If it was 15 million we'd still sell them," said Mr Herbert. "Orders are coming in for between one and five million masks at a go, so we're trying to train up people as soon as possible."
Orders are coming from Asia and Canada where surgical masks are now worn by the public in cities badly affected by SARS.
"Initial calls came from Hong Kong and the Far East and now from Toronto also," said Mr Herbert.
"One customer increased their order by 200 per cent while on average the increase in orders is 100 per cent," he told The Irish Times. "It's ironic. We're in a market normally competing against the Far East but now the Far East has to turn to western Europe and the US to supply the product.
"How we're going to cope with a busy summer is a hurdle we'll be approaching with some precautions," said Mr Herbert.
Turnover of the masks for the month of April was up 50 per cent on the same period last year.