Whooping cough cases in Colorado have tripled so far this year, and schools are experiencing clusters of the preventable respiratory disease, according to the state health department.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Colorado had 333 cases of pertussis, the formal name for whooping cough, as of Aug. 3. At the same time last year, the state had 90 cases.

Nationwide, cases so far this year have more than tripled compared to last year, with the highest counts in Pennsylvania and New York.

Cases of pertussis in Colorado had trended down for years before the pandemic, from 1,431 in 2013 to 465 in 2019, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. They hit a low of 29 in 2021, when most respiratory diseases largely went absent because of masking, social distancing and other COVID-19 precautions.

While the number of cases this year wouldn’t have been unusual before the pandemic, the health department is “concerned” that they continue to rise and because schools are having outbreaks, state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said.

“We encourage people to make sure they and their children are up to date on vaccination, stay home when they’re sick and if they’re prescribed antibiotics, make sure they finish them,” she said in a statement.

Infants are at highest risk for complications, with about one in three needing hospital care and one in 100 dying, according to the CDC. People with less-severe cases don’t always have the characteristic “whoop” that comes from gasping for breath, and may spread the bacteria that cause it while thinking they have a lingering cold.

Antibiotics can shorten the time when someone is contagious, but they don’t do much to lessen the coughing. Otherwise, people don’t have many treatment options other than staying hydrated and possibly using a humidifier, unless they’re sick enough to need supplemental oxygen.

Vaccines are about 98% effective in preventing infection for the first year after the shot, but that gradually drops to about 71% effectiveness in the fifth year. Protection against severe illness lasts longer.

To be up-to-date, babies need to get shots at two, four and six months, with two more shots before they turn 6 and a booster at about 11 or 12. The CDC also recommends a shot in the third trimester of pregnancy to protect the baby immediately after birth. Some pediatricians tell other people who plan to visit a newborn to get a booster shot in the weeks before they do so, to reduce the odds they’ll unknowingly infect the baby.

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Originally Published: August 23, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.

When the power goes out in Louisville, Marci Kalish says her mind starts running.

“Is it transformer fuses blowing? That could cause a spark, that could cause a fire. That’s not safe. Is our power supply safe? You know why these power outages are happening so often?” she said.

Miles away, in almost all corners of the metro area, residents in the Happy Canyon neighborhood in Denver, Applewood in Golden, or south in Sterling Ranch have the same question.

“I’ve lived here for five years. By far, this is the worst area that I’ve lived in my whole life. I’ve been an Xcel customer my whole life,” one Sterling Ranch resident said at a community meeting on Monday.

Kalish, who has lived in her home for 20 years, says she’s had multiple outages every month, for months.

“Have power outages been a problem over those 20 years?” CBS News Colorado reporter Karen Morfitt asked Kalish.

“No, we never experienced a problem like this before,” she responded.

Both she and her husband provide online training for groups across the country. They are now frequently left scrambling to find a place where they can connect to power.

“It’s definitely disconcerting, and we just kind of want answers,” she said.

Xcel representatives spoke directly to Sterling Ranch neighbors at Monday’s meeting, and Robert Kenney, president of Xcel Energy Colorado, spoke briefly on broader issues.

“Every community has its own distinct set of underlying causes. What we are seeing is load growth. And it’s not limited to Colorado. We’re seeing this around the country, where we’re experiencing load growth in ways that we have not historically seen.”

We asked about the outages in each of the neighborhoods brought to CBS News Colorado.

Xcel says that in the Applewood business area, weather events, equipment failure, and crew safety issues are to blame. 

In Denver’s Happy Canyon area, Xcel cites capacity issues due to a cable fault as the cause. In Louisville, a spokesperson says an inspection of the lines was done, and no cause was found.

Xcel says the power grid is built to support customer energy needs, but various factors impact infrastructure, such as customers running air conditioners on hot days.

Kalish says she understands it’s not all on Xcel but wonders if more could be done.

“Our practices will probably have to change. On the other hand, Xcel made $8.5 billion last year, so what are they doing? How much money are they putting into new infrastructure?” she said.

Wildfire safety systems are also leading to more inspections, which means lines are down more frequently. In that case, residents say better notification systems are needed.

CBS News Colorado asked if there were plans to increase or improve that process. 

A spokesperson said only that customers should update their notification preferences and let Xcel know how they want to be reached during an outage. Customers are also encouraged to report any power outage.