The world’s most infectious disease struck four major airports in the US this holiday season.
In December, state health officials reported passengers infected with measles at Denver International Airport, the third busiest airport in the US, Newark Liberty International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
In each case, the passengers had traveled through the airport while infectious, raising the risk that they could spread the disease to others.
Officials are warning those in the airports at the same time as patients that they could be infected, and warning them to keep an eye out for symptoms, including a high fever and red blotchy rash.
Vaccines are up to 97 percent effective against a measles infection, but, among unvaccinated people, nine in 10 of those exposed to the virus become infected.
Doctors warn that children and babies are particularly at risk from the infection. One in every 20 children infected with measles develops pneumonia, while nearly one to three in every 1,000 die from the disease.
Dr Zack Moore, the state epidemiologist in North Carolina, warned in a statement: ‘Measles is a highly contagious disease and it spreads quickly in children and adults who are not vaccinated.
‘All… should ensure that they and their families are up to date on their MMR vaccine.’
Four US airports reported passengers infected with measles had traveled through them last month, in a warning to passengers (Image of travelers at Denver International Airport)
At Denver International Airport, which sees about 82million passengers every year, officials raised concerns over a potential measles exposure just before Christmas Day.
The patient, who was not named, had traveled through the airport on December 12 between 7:24 and 9:41 pm. It was not clear what flights they were on.
Officials said the individual arrived at gate B45 in concourse B and then departed from gate B84 in the same concourse.
They were reported to have been fully vaccinated against the virus and to have had only mild symptoms. Officials said there was a low risk that they had passed the disease to others.
At Newark Liberty International Airport, a measles patient was reported to have been in Terminals B and C on December 12 between 7am and 7pm.
No further details on the patient were revealed, and it was not immediately clear where they had been in the airport during their 12-hour visit.
At Boston Logan International Airport, officials said a passenger infected with measles had been at the airport on December 11 from 2:39 to 4:45 pm.
No further details on the patient were revealed, but officials said they had arrived on American Airlines flight 2384 from Dallas-Fort Worth.
The four passengers were infectious while they were in the airports, officials said (stock image)
Shown above is a plane at Denver International Airport, Colorado, the third busiest airport in the US (stock image)
On the night of December 11, the individual had stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Boston-Westborough, a 42-minute drive from the airport, before returning at 6pm to catch the 9:19 pm JetBlue flight 117 to Las Vegas, Nevada.
At Raleigh-Durham International Airport, a person infected with measles arrived at Terminal 2 on December 10, officials said, and remained there from 4 to 8 am.
In each case, there are currently no reports that the patients had transmitted measles to other passengers.
In each case, passengers who sat near the infected individual on the plane, and who could have been infected, are being contacted by officials and being warned to watch for signs of infection.
Measles is transmitted via droplets released into the air when someone coughs or sneezes.
The reports come amid concerns the US could lose its measles elimination status this month over escalating cases of the disease.
The World Health Organization only considers a country to be measles-free if it has had no locally transmitted cases of the same strain of the disease for 12 months or longer.
A major measles outbreak began in West Texas last year, largely among a mostly unvaccinated religious community, before, officials say, it spread to South Carolina and other states.
US officials are currently building an argument that the outbreaks in South Carolina and other states are separate, however, and not the same outbreak, in a bid to keep the elimination status.
In 2025, a total of 2,065 cases of measles were recorded in the US, the most in three decades.
In less than two weeks, 107 new cases of measles were recorded, according to the CDC, including Connecticut’s first case of the disease since 2021.
