Larimer County confirmed that a young man from the Cherokee Park area died from plague on June 8. Officials said the deceased was the first Larimer County resident confirmed to have contracted plague since 1999.

An investigation is ongoing, but officials said the unidentified individual may have contracted the disease from fleas on a dead rodent or other animal on the family acreage. The Larimer County Department of Health and Environment is coordinating the investigation, working with the experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the State Health Department, and the Larimer County Coroner’s office.

Because many people visited the family’s home after the young man’s death — before the cause of death was identified — officials said the family is reaching out to those who visited their home or attended the scattering of his ashes on the property. There is a small chance that others might have been bitten by infected fleas, so anyone who was on the family’s land in the last seven days should seek medical attention immediately if a fever occurs. The last exposure to others was likely on June 14.

Officials said those who attended services in Fort Collins on June 10 or June 13 are not at any risk, nor is there any risk from past contact with the deceased, nor recent contact with his family members and friends.

In recent decades, an average of seven human plague cases are reported each year nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most human cases in the United States are scattered in rural areas and occur predominantly in two regions:

•Northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, and southern Colorado

•California, southern Oregon, and far western Nevada.

Officials said the only animals with confirmed plague so far this year in Larimer County were in an area of Soapstone Natural area that is not open to the public.

The county was unsure what type of plague was contracted by the man, although officials said bubonic plague is the most common form of the disease in humans (about 80 percent of cases). Another possibility is Septicemic plague, which is highly fatal unless treated promptly.

For more information on plague, visit www.cdc.gov/plague.