A young man has died in Larimer County, Colorado, in the county's first confirmed plague case since 1999.
Authorities are still investigating the June 8 death. CBS Denver reports Taylor Gaes died on June 8, most likely from fleas on a dead rodent or other animal on the family acreage. Gaes was a 16-year-old high school athlete who played quarterback on the football team and was a starting pitcher in baseball.
Plague can spread through rodent populations in a localized area often resulting in mass animal "die-offs." The only animals with confirmed plague so far this year in Larimer County were in an area of Soapstone Natural area this is not open to the public, according to CBS Denver.
The plague killed millions of people in Europe in the Middle Ages in a series of outbreaks known as the Black Death. "Now, it's very rare, especially in the U.S. There are only about 7 to 10 cases a year, but it still exists," medical contributor Dr. Holly Phillips told "CBS This Morning." "Think of rodents in very rural states -- western states, southwest, ranches, farms -- that's likely what happened here."
The most common form of the disease, bubonic plague, accounts for about 80 percent of cases in humans. It causes painful swelling of the lymph nodes, fever and muscle aches, and as the bacteria multiply they can spread to the respiratory system and bloodstream.
A 7-year-old girl recovered from the plague after contracting it while camping in southwest Colorado last year. Her mother said may have been infected by insects near a dead squirrel she wanted to bury.
Poor kid. No one should be dying in this day and age from that sort of thing.
It is unlikely however that this would ever become a real epidemic (unless there is some new variation of the bacteria that happens to be resistant to meds).
Shocking that this is still around though, and still just as effective at killing people. Really puts things into perspective, like no matter how much we've advanced we're still just the same fragile humans we were 600 years ago (or whenever the black plague was a thing). A deadly outbreak is always possible.
