TORONTO — As concern grows about a possible pandemic this fall from the H1N1 virus, at least one Toronto company is seeing an increase in the demand for its product.

Trevor Owen Ltd. says orders are pouring in from as far away as some Persian Gulf states for its pandemic body bags.

The company says several thousand of its thick plastic body bags were recently shipped to Alberta.

Trevor Owen president Pierre Barcik says some seniors’ residences are “starting to buy five, 10, or 15 at a time,” adding provincial and state governments are starting to stockpile the bags.

While most hospitals and morgues use bags made of light duty plastic, the material used in a pandemic body bags is thicker and stronger, comparable to a light tarp.

Barcik says it’s also outfitted with six carrying handles, allowing for inexperienced personnel hastily moving bodies at a time of crisis.