Swine flu lifts sales of Purell sanitizer, Clorox wipes, other consumer products

As my husband was recently struggling to sleep while battling his swine flu symptoms -- I wish I could get one of those test kits to determine for sure what he has -- I made a shopping list. I added disinfectant wipes after swabbing down the phone and remote controls he used. Also on the list went bleach after noticing I was low when I cleaned the bathroom. Surgical masks and Purell -- the bottle was nearly half empty I realized in alarm -- made it on too, after I reckoned it was impossible to keep a wide enough berth (six feet is recommended distance) from someone with whom I share a house.

I'm not the only one who's got swine flu prevention on the brain. This scenario is playing out all over the country in households with sick persons, or just those preparing for the likely event that someone could get infected. Some 63 percent of the population could catch the virus by year's end. The happy consequence, of course, is that several consumer product companies are seeing sales and bottom-line growth as a result. Here's a run-down of some of the more prominent beneficiaries: