Teen dies of rare case of plague

A16-year-old boy who appeared to have the common flu has died of a rare case of the plague, officials said.

Taylor Gaes’ illness didn’t present with the telltale sign of the infection, swollen lymph nodes, which would have alerted officials to the illness sooner, said Katie O’Donnell, a Larimer County Health Department spokeswoman.

The plague is “very rare, which makes it hard to diagnose,” O’Donnell said.

Taylor died June 8 but officials revealed his illness Friday.

Officials are unsure which type of plague Taylor contracted, though they suspect bubonic plague because it is the most common and the easiest to transmit through a bug bite.