Wash. whooping cough outbreak worst in over 60 years

EVERETT, Wash. -- 2012 is shaping up to be the worst epidemic of whooping cough in more than 60 years, and that has health departments around the state worried and begging adults to get vaccinated.

Snohomish County has had the highest number of reported cases in the state. Last year, little Kahlia Charles was a victim, and her mom has been on a mission ever since.

Kahlia was just 27 days old when she died last August of pertussis. She caught whooping cough from her mother.

"I already had whooping cough when I was in labor but didn't know about it, so they gave me the shot before I left the hospital but it was already too late," Chelsey Charles said.

With the epidemic in full swing, the state health department is urging all adults - including pregnant women - to get the vaccine. Just through last week, 1,008 cases of pertussis were reported, more than all cases reported last year. The epidemic is shaping up to be the worst our state has seen in more than 60 years.

"We're way, way up and we're really not seeing any signs that it's diminishing," said Dr. Gary Goldbaum with the Snohomish Health District.

Snohomish County is hardest hit with the highest number of cases. They've already sent hundreds of doses of vaccine to area clinics and are working with local pharmacies and clinics to get more adults vaccinated.

Infants have no natural immunity and can only start a series of vaccinations at six weeks. The real risk to babies comes from the adults around them, because even if you were vaccinated as a kid - that vaccine wears off.

So the health district wants all teens and adults to get a Tdap vaccination to protect themselves, but even more importantly to protect the babies and prevent any more deaths.

"It's really important if we want to stop this epidemic we need to get people to get their shot," Goldbaum said. "We have the tools to prevent that from happening. I think that it's everyone's responsibility - it's a shared responsibility of all of us."

The Snohomish Health District plans to send a warning out to every household in the county next week urging all teens and adults to get a Tdap booster shot. And many area pharmacies are including notes with prescriptions to let patients know about the urgency of the situation and that they can get those vaccinations at many pharmacies, and clinics throughout the region.

"I've just been trying to tell everybody that they need to get their shot because so many babies are getting sick right now and it's scary," Charles said. "And I don't want anybody else to have to lose their baby."