MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Health District and Columbia Basin Job Corps disagree about whether students were affected by Norovirus in June.

Jeff Ketchel, health district administrator, said Job Corps was a month late reporting a possible illness of 46 students and four staff members. The district suspects it was Norovirus.

“By the time we heard of the instance, there was nothing we could do and everyone had recovered,” Ketchel said. “We had a nurse go out to Job Corps and advise them on the proper control measures to take when things such as this happen.”

Symptoms of Norovirus include vomiting and other stomach problems.

“Job Corps employees think it was something the students ate, but we don’t know for sure what brought on the symptoms.” Ketchel said.

Job Corps Center Director Peggy Hendren denies this incident occurred.

“An employee we let go last week was the one who reported this to the health district,” Hendren explained. “We know there were three or four students having stomach problems a few months ago, but that was the extent. “

All outbreaks are reported to Hendren and the health district right away, Hendren said.

“We have strict protocols we follow and we take our students’ health very seriously,” Hendren said.

Hendren said Job Corps has never failed to report a health incident before.

“We’ve only had one incident we had to report that I am aware of,” Hendren said. “It was a flu outbreak when I first arrived in 2004 and we followed all the requirements.”

The Grant County Health District’s Moses Lake office is located at 1038 W. Ivy Ave.

For more information, call 509-766-7960.