11 News has confirmed an outbreak of whooping cough at elementary schools in Southern Colorado.

A letter went out to parents to let them know that two students from two different elementary schools have whooping cough.

The illness was discovered at Desert Sage Elementary and Sierra Vista Elementary in Pueblo.

Whooping cough is a contagious disease that spreads when the infected person sneezes or coughs and another person breaths in the bacteria. The Pueblo City-County Health Department says cases of whooping cough could be on the rise.

"We're seeing whooping cough in Elementary aged children and this could be because they're not practicing good hygiene and washing their hands often. We don't know the exact reason right now, “ Sarah Joseph, with the Pueblo City-County Health Department explained.

The Health Department encourages all parents to have their children vaccinated. They should also be on the look out for a cough that lasts longer than two weeks.

So far this year, there have been eight cases of whooping cough in Pueblo County. In El Paso County, there have been 62 cases of Whooping Cough, seven of those were reported in just one week this month.