Becton Dickinson & Co. (BDX) is "well prepared" to respond to the swine flu with testing and immunization-delivery products, a company official said Tuesday.

The medical-products maker saw soft sales of flu-testing products in its recent fiscal quarter due to a mild flu season in the U.S. But the rise of swine flu cases and potential for a broader outbreak could quickly change that equation.

"We're very well prepared for this," Gary M. Cohen, an executive vice president at Becton, said on a call with analysts. "We should know soon whether it should have any impact on product demand."

The products swine flu could affect include rapid flu tests and immunization devices that would be used with injectable anti-viral drugs, Cohen said. There is already an increased demand for such products in Mexico, which seems to have a strong link to the flu outbreak, although the impact from that is minimal for Becton, Cohen said.

Vincent A. Forlenza, the company's president, cautioned on the call that "it's too early to really predict" what will happen with the flu situation.

Cohen noted that Becton has long been planning around the possibility of a pandemic, previously because of fears about avian flu. The plans include work-force policies to ensure continuing operations and to produce products that may be most in demand.

"Those activities are now engaged," Cohen said, while noting that the company has two significant facilities in Mexico.

Becton shares were recently down 2.8% to $63.15 following an announcement of lower-than-expected sales in the company's fiscal second quarter, although the sales shortfall did not hurt earnings.

-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728; jon.kamp@dowjones.com