Local health officials say the outbreak is the worst in 20 years. has issued a health warning after recording 61 confirmed cases of whooping cough.
is highly contagious and is spread when someone infected coughs or sneezes or shares food and drinks with others. The disease is making the rounds in area schools.
Boulder sent warnings to 25 K-12 schools and 6 preschools this year.
In , 15 schools have reported cases of whooping cough. In total, 38 cases have been confirmed.
Pertussis is a bacterial infection of the respiratory tract. The first signs are often cold-like symptoms with the cough becoming more severe. Health officials say the best way to prevent whooping cough is through vaccination.
Officials with the state department of public health say they continue to see above average weekly case counts of whooping cough, including local clusters of illness, but numbers are down from several months ago.
