There is evidence that pharmacists are cashing in on escalating demand for the anti-viral drug Tamiflu in the midst of the swine flu pandemic.

Drug manufacturer Roche offers no recommended retail price for Tamiflu, which is the drug that experts say is most effective to treat the H1N1 virus.

But some pharmacists are selling it for between $7 and $8 a single tablet.

Tamiflu sales on the internet are also increasing and consumer groups fear customers are being sold snake-oil.

In the past 24 hours the number of swine flu cases has increased by almost 10 per cent, with 6,353 now confirmed in Australia.

The Government will cover the cost of Tamiflu if you are diagnosed with the virus.

If it is being taken as a precaution, however, the price can range by more than $20 a course.

Perth-based pharmacist David Maxwell says he charges between $70 and $80 for 10 Tamiflu tablets.

"If it saves you from having the flu for perhaps half the period of time that we would expect, I think the cost is somewhere between $70 and $80," Mr Maxwell said.

"To spend that, some people consider that to be pretty quick to get them over the flu twice as fast as what they would normally be expected to.

"I know there have been cases of reported deaths and we are using that for the protection of public health.

"Maybe that is relatively cost-effective. I guess it depends on an individual's viewpoint, but I certainly wouldn't consider it to be very expensive."

'Position of trust'

The Pharmacy Guild indicated in April that the normal price was about $50 a course when it highlighted customer concerns about prices.

Guild president Kos Sclavos, however, says most people can now get it for free if they are sick.

But he says he cannot tell pharmacists what to charge for Tamiflu.

"Obviously the Guild, by law, can't engage in recommended prices," he said.

"We used to but the ACCC, because obviously the vast majority of pharmacists are in the Pharmacy Guild, we are not in a position to put out prices.

"That leads to inconsistency then frustration by consumers, but we can only follow the law.

Christopher Zinn from consumer group Choice says with more people dying from the virus, pharmacists should be monitored to ensure they are not taking advantage of a frightened public.

"The market in pharmaceuticals is fairly regulated and the fact there might not be something particularly in Tamiflu is not the direct concern," he said.

"The direct concern is that pharmacists are in a privileged position. They enjoy a great deal of trust from the community.

"They would not want to see that situation changed, and if any were seen to be profiteering from this very serious public health issue by selling Tamiflu significantly above the odds, that does nothing but erode that important position of trust.

"We would hope the Pharmacy Guild could really take action and send a strong and clear message to its members to manage this in the most sensible possible way."

Internet sales

Mr Zinn says there also needs to be warnings about the sales of Tamiflu over the internet.

"It would come as no surprise that the internet is the favoured vector of the snake-oil salesman," he said.

"The fact people could flog all sorts of things on the net with very little danger of being caught or held to account, or even have to provide a refund, should unfortunately come as no surprise."

While swine flu fears seem to be hitting consumers in the hip-pocket, it appears parents are also becoming increasingly reluctant to send their children to school in case they fall ill.

One school in Sydney's north says it had a quarter of its students stay home one day last week.

Oakhill Catholic College principal Brother Ken Ormerod says he has never seen anything like it.

"The number of students that have been kept home with flu has been extraordinarily high," Brother Ormerod said.

"Normally we would go through a winter season with maybe a top absentee rate of something like 10 per cent, but when the figures get up to 25 per cent, it is certainly extraordinary."