The meningitis epidemic is raging in our community, and physicians are
still being kept in the dark about the possible source of the infection.
Why is Doug Sider, our Associate Medical Officer of Health stone-walling
the public?
A few years ago, when an elderly women died in a nursing home, the
source of the epidemic was the new water treatment plant. The plant was
closed, the source revealed, and yet the press went wild because it took
too long to let the public know.
So why is Dr. Sider not telling the public which club served as the
source for the outbreak? If a restaurant maintained poor hygiene, he
wouldn't hesitate to mention its name. Dr. Sider must tell all citizens
of K-W the name of the club for our protection. To do otherwise would
indeed be serving their interest, which of course is to pump money into
the economy and to serve the interests of the club owners
It is evident that the Health Department cares more about a few club
owners than it does about our health. The gargantuan effort being
displayed, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent would be
better off spent on other areas of concern.
For instance, our Health Department has one tobacco enforcement officer
to cover the entire county. How many lives could be saved if the
priorities of our health people would be aimed at the prevention of a
plague of tobacco addiction which effects tens of thousands of
non-smoking adults and children?
How many parents go to sleep in mortal fear of the meningococcal bug, at
the same time they allow their kids to go to these clubs, surrounded by
booze, drugs, and tobacco?
I dare say that if the truth were known, the exact transmission of the
meningicoccal infection in some of these cases may have been a mouth to
mouth contact, i.e. by sharing a joint or cigarette while at the club.
We deserve to know Dr. Sider. Why won't you tell us?