COUPEVILLE, Wash. -- Thousands of tourists will flock to Langley this weekend for the annual arts festival called Choochokam, but organizers are concerned that fear may keep some away.

There's been an outbreak of whooping cough on the south end of Whidbey Island with 27 confirmed cases and another 15 to 20 suspected, Dr. Roger Case of Island County Health Department said. Health officials said, most, but not all of the confirmed whooping cough cases are from the island.

Case said Thursday that people who have not been immunized against the disease should avoid attending public events here. On Friday, Case clarified his statements saying he never meant to say don't come to Whidbey and he never meant to steer people away from the arts festival.

"Because most people who come to the island come for tourist reasons and they're outside, they're not going to be mingling with people who actually have the disease. So I don't think they're at very much risk," Case said.

A local pediatrician, Dr. Bob Wagner said this disease is hardest on the very young, the very old and those with respiratory problems.

"If a person was unvaccinated and a high risk person, then I would say you might want to stay away from large public events, but anybody else, it's gonna be a good time," Dr. Bob Wagner said.

Small children, especially babies, are extremely vulnerable to whooping cough, also known as pertussis.

Adults and small children get different whooping cough shots, but they protect them both the same way, Case said.

Babies and children younger than 12 get what's called the D-tap vaccinations -- a series of doses to stop diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that teenagers and adults get what are called T-dap vaccinations every 10 years. The T-dap is a booster to keep the immunization built up. If you are an adult, and only got a childhood vaccination, you may not be immune to whooping cough now.

For more information, visit the CDC’s link to the right of this story.