The mosquito-borne Zika virus threat has left Brazilians rushing to purchase repellant, which has resulted into a lack of some brands on pharmacy shelves. It has boosted the sales for the industry, a trend many producers have been preparing for at other places as the outbreak spreads.

As per a consumer research firm, Nielsen, after Zika detection in April, repellant sales in Brazil went up by one-third in previous year, which doubled revenue for the sector, making it $55.7 million. The purchase was also spurred by a rise in dengue case, which is another virus spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Since November, when Brazilian authorities flagged a possible link between Zika and suspected cases of microcephaly, sales saw an even more sharp increase. Microcephaly is a condition marked by abnormally tiny head size in newborns that can cause developmental problems.

According to Brazil's largest chain of pharmacies, Raia Drogasil, in December, repellant sales soared seven-fold from a year earlier.

The biggest retailer in Brazil, Pao de Acucar Group, said that repellant’s supermarket sales were up by 120% in the first weeks of this year, in comparison to the same period a year before. Highest rise was noticed in the Northeast area at the centre of the outbreak, where sales have gone up fourfold, and in the second city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where they have tripled.

Protection against Zika is a top priority in Rio for the 6.5 million inhabitants of the city and hundreds of thousands of tourists as the nation’s biggest Carnival celebration starts on Friday. In August, the city is also going to host the Olympic Games.

In Rio even at small local pharmacies, the waiting lists for Exposis, the most sought-after repellant, includes hundreds of names. Pregnant mothers and their families have been rushing from store to store seeking the product.