Whooping Caugh Epidemic in Washington

From the Washington Post:

Washington state’s worst outbreak of whooping cough in decades has prompted health officials to declare an epidemic, seek help from federal experts and urge residents to get vaccinated amid worry that cases of the highly contagious disease could spike much higher.

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State epidemic declarations are up to the states; there are no federal regulations for such decisions. Selecky said this is the first time in her 13 years on the job she has declared a state epidemic, but felt she needed to take action to stop the disease from spreading further.

“When we’ve looked historically, we’ve seen nothing like this,” she said. “We’re taking this very seriously.”

Adults and teens need booster shots so they don’t give pertussis to the babies in their lives, said CDC spokeswoman Alison Patti

“We want to create a cocoon of protection around them,” she said. “We’re really worried about keeping babies safe.”

Pertussis is known as whooping cough because of the “whooping” sound people often make while gasping for air after a coughing fit. A highly contagious bacterial disease, it starts off like a cold but leads to severe coughing that can last for weeks. In rare cases, it can be fatal. 

Until routine child vaccination became widespread in the 1940s, pertussis caused thousands of fatalities each year in the United States.

Although the state official says that the outbreak isn't because of the anti-vaccine movement, it is notable that the only reasons for the outbreak is a failure to get vaccinated.

Just a good reminder to make sure you are up to date on your vaccines and boosters.