Has there been any statement directly from the BHB camp as to how bad the situation really is?

I know it is his business, but if I were taking a black eye like this I would probably say something on FB or the boards. Our hobby for the most part is financed by disposable income (most of us do not NEED that new morph), and there are quite a few really good breeders out there (I considered BHB one of them), but you have to do damage control when word like this starts to spread.

As to how the mites got there in the first place, it is speculation on our part (seems a lot of that in some of these threads). There are several ways for it to happen, so they just need to figure it out and safeguard against it as best they can.

It is not acceptable for large numbers of snakes to be sent out with infestations, but as had been mentioned previously, everyone should be pre treating and quarantining anyway.