Health officials in Colorado have revealed that the death of a high school pitcher and quarterback earlier this month was caused by a rare form of plague.
The cause of death of 16-year-old Taylor Gaes was septicemic plague, which is a form of plague wherein the disease directly enters the bloodstream. The teenager died from the disease on June 8, one day after his 16th birthday, according to the Washington Post.
Gaes is the first official resident in the Larimer County district to have died of the disease since 1999. He may have contracted it from "fleas on a dead rodent or other animal on the family's acreage," the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment said in a press release.
The department also said that it is coordinating with experts, namely the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the State Health Department and the Larimer County Coroner's office on the investigation of the teenager's sudden death.
Additionally, the family is also reaching out to those who went to their house or during the scattering of Gaes' ashes in the property on June 14, urging them to seek medical help in the event they get a fever.
Shannon Gaes, the teenager's mother, revealed that he had been fighting what the family thought was a "bad flu" and had a high fever on June 5 and also complained about soreness and muscle aches.
By June 7, Taylor started to feel better, until he started to cough blood at 5:30 a.m. the next day. He died while he was being rushed to the hospital, the Coloradoan reported.
