(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — Parents of students at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs received a detailed letter from El Paso County Public Health (EPCPH) on Monday, Oct. 21 regarding its investigation into a case of pertussis (commonly known as whooping cough) at the high school.
FOX21 News reached out to the Health Department on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and according to EPCPH, El Paso County has seen a significant increase in reported cases and outbreaks of pertussis in all levels of schooling.
Whooping cough is a very contagious respiratory illness that is spread when people come into close contact with someone who has the disease and is coughing or sneezing.
“Those at highest risk of getting sick are people living in the same household, and others who spend a lot of time with the sick person,” wrote Michelle Beyrle, MPH, Division Director of Strategy, Data & Communication at EPCPH.
Beyrle said symptoms can develop up to 21 days after exposure, but most frequently occur after about a week. Although whooping cough may appear as a common cold initially, later symptoms include a fever of less than 100.4, a runny or stuffed-up nose, and a lingering high-pitch whooping cough.