New Jersey Department of Health officials issued a measles alert for Newark Airport on Friday afternoon, just before the Memorial Day weekend.
According to the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH), an international traveler with measles passed through Terminal B at Newark Airport on Wednesday, May 8. The traveler – who is not a New Jersey resident – arrived from Vienna, Austria.
The passenger was infectious on that day and may have exposed others to measles, officials said.
“If you were in Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport on May 8 between 2 and 6 p.m. you may have been exposed to measles and, if infected, could develop symptoms as late as May 29,” NJDOH officials said.
New Jersey residents identified as potentially exposed on the ill individual’s flights will be notified by their local health department. In the event that additional exposures are identified, an update will be provided, officials said.
Anyone who suspects an exposure is urged to call a health care provider before going to a medical office or emergency department. Special arrangements can be made for evaluation while also protecting other patients and medical staff from possible infection, officials said.
According to the NJDOH:
“Measles symptoms include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. It can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain). Measles infection in a pregnant woman can lead to miscarriage, premature birth or a low-birth-weight baby. Measles is easily spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes. People can also get sick when they come in contact with mucus or saliva from an infected person.”
Anyone who has not been vaccinated or has not had measles is at risk if they are exposed, state officials said.
A NJDOH document with information on what to do if you’ve been exposed to measles is available here.
Shereef Elnahal, MD@ShereefElnahal
Another public health alert: measles exposure at Newark Airport on May 8th.If you were at @EWRairport and passed through Terminal B between 2-6 PM, you may have been exposed and could develop symptoms (rash, fever, cough, more) through May 29th.
RECENT MEASLES ALERTS AT NEWARK AIRPORT
According to NJDOH officials, an international traveler from Israel infected with measles arrived in Terminal C at Newark Airport on Tuesday, April 16. The passenger’s flight originated in Tel Aviv, authorities said.
In March, NJDOH officials issued a measles alert for Newark Airport after an international traveler infected with the disease passed through Terminal C after arriving from Aruba.
In December 2018, an international traveler who has been confirmed to have measles arrived in Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport on a flight from Brussels. The individual was infectious on that day and may have traveled to other areas of the airport, officials said.
In October 2018, the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH) issued an alert about “potential measles exposure” at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday after an international traveler from Israel was confirmed to have the “highly contagious disease.”
According to the DOH, the infected traveler arrived in Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport on a flight from Tel Aviv on Sept. 28.
In May 2018, the DOH issued an alert that travelers who passed through Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport on May 2 may have possibly been exposed to measles.
“In two unrelated incidents, an individual with measles stopped briefly in the state on April 30 while on a tour bus traveling from Niagara Falls, New York to Washington DC, and a Bergen County resident developed measles after contact with an international traveler who was ill with measles,” DOH officials stated.
Locations that may have been exposed included sites in Englewood and Columbia, in addition to the airport, officials said.
In March 2018, the NJDOH released a public health advisory that an international traveler from Brussels with a confirmed case of the “highly contagious disease” passed through the busy airport on their way to Memphis, Tennessee.
The suspected carrier, a young child, was reportedly infectious on that day and may have traveled to other areas of the airport, officials said.
In January 2018, the NJDOH issued a precautionary alert in connection with a person with measles who traveled through Newark Liberty International Airport.
The source of the alert, an Indiana University student, had a “confirmed case” of the highly contagious disease when she traveled through the airport, authorities said.
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