Ephrata norovirus source identified by health officials

EPHRATA — The Grant County Health District on Tuesday released results of an official investigation into who served contaminated food at this year's two-day Sage-N-Sun festival earlier this month.

"Based on the results of the recent investigation, the food concession which appears responsible for the reported illness is Arrow Star Concessions operated by Nikkie and Don Howard," wrote Jerry Campbell, the district's environmental health director, in a June 27 letter.

Earlier this month, health district officials reported that lab tests confirmed norovirus caused about 70 people who attended the festival to get sick.

"It wasn't any fault of mine, I hope I'm not made out to be the villain," said Don Howard Thursday. "I'm surely not denying any responsibility because it can happen. I don't know why it happened or how it happened this time."

Howard, of Moses Lake, who has operated Arrow Star Concessions since 1989, said they have never had a problem before this incident.

"It was not caused by food. It was one of our helpers," he said.

Health district officials, he said, narrowed the source of the contamination to a female employee working at his food wagon, where hamburgers, curly fried potatoes and beverages were sold.

Jane Montaney, food chair for the Sage-N-Sun festival, said the Howard family have run a concession stand at the Sage-N-Sun festival for the last several years.

Montaney declined to comment on the results of the health district's investigation.

"I'd have to read the (health district) report before I comment on that," she said.

Symptoms of norovirus usually include vomiting, watery non-bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Noroviruses are transmitted primarily through the fecal-oral route, by consumptions of fecally contaminated food or water. Direct person-to-person contact may also be a source of infection, the agency stated on its Web site.