Thousands of travelers and park goers are being warned that they may have been exposed to the measles, after a person confirmed to have the virus visited a popular theme park and airport.
The Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) said in a statement Saturday that an international traveler with a confirmed case of measles came through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and visited Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
While infectious, the person visited Goofy’s Kitchen in Disneyland Hotel from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 28, and Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park from 12:30 pm to closing at 9 pm on the same day.
The international traveler arrived at LAX on Monday, January 26 at the Tom Bradley International Terminal B on Viva Aerobus flight No 518 at gate 201A and may have exposed people at the terminal between 10:45 pm and 1 am Tuesday, according to the County of Los Angeles Public Health.
Disneyland Park has an average of 47,500 guests per day with a maximum capacity of 85,000. Disney California Adventure Park has an average of 27,500 guests per day with a maximum capacity of 51,000.
Officials are urging people who were in these locations during this time check their immunity status, either through prior infection or vaccination, and monitor for symptoms.
The statement said: ‘People who were at these locations during the date and time listed above may be at risk of developing measles from 7 to 21 days after being exposed.’
California has recorded three confirmed measles cases this year, but the recent news comes as the US battles one of the worst resurgences of measles since it was declared eliminated in the early 2000s.
Disneyland Park (pictured above) has an average of 47,500 guests per day with a maximum capacity of 85,000
While infectious, the person visited Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park from 12:30 pm to closing at 9 pm on January 28 (file photo)
As of January 30, 2026, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) has recorded 847 measles cases since October 2025, surpassing a massive outbreak in Texas last year that has infected over 800.
Of these, 558 cases have been reported in 2026 alone, according to DPH.
There are currently 443 people in quarantine and 20 in isolation and about a dozen schools have students under quarantine measures.
Additionally, 19 people have been hospitalized with the measles and complications from the virus since the outbreak began in October.
No deaths have been reported in the state or nationwide so far in 2026. There were three deaths in 2025.
As of January 29, the CDC has reported only 588 cases of measles nationwide. However, those figures are not as recently updated as the ones for South Carolina, so state data is more accurate.
A separate database maintained by Johns Hopkins Center for Outbreak Response Innovation (CORI) reports 658 cases nationwide in 2026, with 524 in South Carolina.
So far in 2026, measles cases have also been reported in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
South Carolina’s outbreak of measles, which causes the distinctive rash pictured above, has surpassed a massive surge seen in Texas last year (stock image)
Cases in North Carolina, Washington and California have been linked to the South Carolina outbreak.
Measles is an infectious, but preventable, disease caused by a virus that leads to flu-like symptoms, a rash that starts on the face and spreads down the body, and, in severe cases, pneumonia, seizures, brain inflammation, permanent brain damage, and death.
The virus is spread through direct contact with infectious droplets or through the air. Patients with a measles infection are contagious from four days before the rash through four days after the rash appears.
The US formally eliminated measles in 2000, meaning there had been no community spread in 12 months, due to widespread MMR vaccine uptake.
Enclosed areas like airports and planes are extremely risky locations for disease transmission, as the measles virus spreads via airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
