Whooping cough cases triple in Colorado

Whooping cough cases in Colorado have tripled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Aug. 3, Colorado has had 333 confirmed cases of the respiratory disease that is also known as pertussis. At this time last year, Colorado had only seen 90 cases.

"It's one of the ones that can easily spread and spread rapidly," said Joyce Bertram, School Director at Bethany Busy Bee Early Learning Center.

Whooping cough is one of the most dangerous, preventable respiratory diseases. It's also a highly contagious bacterial disease that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. This is one reason why Bertram takes extra precautions around the infants she watches.

"You just have to be mindful always that this is something that could cause death in young children," Bertram said.

According to the CDC, Infants ages 1 and under are at greatest risk for serious disease and death because their immune systems are still developing. Also, whooping cough isn't always easy to identify at first.

"You'll have a normal cold like a runny nose, a little bit of a cough, a little bit of a fever, and then you think you're fine. But, then a week or two later, after those symptoms, then the coughs begin," said Dr. Malcolm Anderson with Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children.

The CDC says that about one in three babies under one year old who get whooping cough needs to go to the hospital. They also recommend babies take the whooping cough vaccine when they are 2, 4, and 6 months old.

Some parents are choosing to refrain from giving their children the vaccine, as experts say vaccinations are down.

A recent Kids Count report says between 2019 and 2023, the percentage of kids fully immunized from whooping cough dropped from 93% to 87%. The state says it's seeing drops in vaccinations among children in child care, kindergarten, and K-12.