&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "New Jersey measles alert: Warning issued for passengers who were at the Newark airport")
If you were at the Newark Liberty International Airport recently, then this is for you. Authorities have issued an alert that thousands of passengers might have been exposed to measles during peak holiday travel. The world's most infectious disease could have spread from a contagious non-New Jersey resident who travelled through the concourses, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) warned. The alert is mainly for people who were at terminals B and C between 7 am and 7 pm on December 19. Officials are carrying out contact tracing to identify individuals who could have been exposed to this passenger. The department asked those who suspect they could be infected to call the local health department or medical provider before visiting them.
Measles symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, watery red eyes and a rash that appears by the third to fifth day after the onset of symptoms, according to NJODH. New Jersey has reported 11 measles cases in 2025. The disease was declared eliminated from the US in 2000. But cases have been cropping up again. What pushed its spread further was an outbreak in Texas earlier this year among a religious community with most of the people unvaccinated against the most infectious disease. Nearly 800 measles cases were reported in Texas this year.
Measles cases in US
While measles itself is also dangerous, it can also cause serious health issues such as pneumonia, swelling of the brain, premature birth and even miscarriage in pregnant women. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated in a December 23 update that measles was reported in 2,012 Americans this year, with three of them losing their lives. This is the largest outbreak since 1992, when 2,126 cases were reported. The CDC added that 93 per cent of measles cases in 2025 were either in people who were not vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
