EDITORIAL: Legionnaires Outbreak Was Kept Under Wraps, Why?

By Gary Jaramillo
Publisher, Mountain Mail

How many people here in Socorro do you suppose would let others know if they knew about something that was dangerous and had the potential to hurt their friends and neighbors and might even have the possibility of hurting others across the country as well?
We would like to believe that everyone here in Socorro would immediately get the word out about something that could harm innocent others, right?
Maybe even kill them?
Just recently The Mountain Mail found out that there was a Legionnaires Disease Outbreak at the Best Western Hotel owned by Mayor Dr. Bhasker.
We found out totally by accident from someone who came across the story in an Arkansas newspaper while surfing the internet.
The publisher of the Nashville Leader in Arkansas and his daughter had made a trip to the Southwest and stayed at the hotel and they were contacted by their state health department. The publisher wrote about his experience in his newspaper.
Two customers of the Best Western owned by the Mayor contracted Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires Disease, in the spa area of the hotel.
Apparently they were part of one of the first responder classes who stay exclusively at the Mayor’s hotel year ‘round.
We were shocked that not even one of the many media sources in New Mexico were contacted by the Mayor (who is also a doctor) and told about this very serious situation.
We can’t explain why the State Environmental Department wouldn’t warn anyone about something that has the potential to be quite deadly and devastating if not contained.
You’d think both a medical doctor and our state health department would at least seem just a tiny bit more concerned and a lot less apathetic about the possibility of this becoming a catastrophic event.
It’s aggravating as hell that something this important was kept under wraps and no one in our town would have known about it at all had both our Mayor and local doctor and the health department had it their way.
Yes sir, aggravating as hell.

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EDITORIAL: Legionnaires Outbreak Was Kept Under Wraps, Why?