Thousands of Shakira fans who attended a concert in New Jersey last week could have been exposed with measles, health officials warn.
Fans at the ‘Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran’ show at the MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and Jets, on Thursday night and early Friday morning may be infected.
The warning, released by the New Jersey Department of Health, said potentially exposed individuals ‘could develop symptoms as late as June 6’.
They said an individual had attended the concert while infected with measles, triggering the alert. It was not clear whether the patient was vaccinated.
In a statement, the department said: ‘[We] are alerting residents about potential exposures associated with a newly identified case of measles in a non-New Jersey resident who attended a concert in New Jersey while infectious.
‘Individuals — especially parents, guardians, health care providers, and caregivers — are urged to be aware of the symptoms of this highly contagious virus.’
The alert covers both of Shakira’s two-hour shows on May 16, with officials saying anyone there between 7.30pm and 1am the next day could have been infected.
The MetLife stadium can hold up to 82,500 people.
Fans who attended her ‘Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran’ show at the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, on Thursday night and early Friday morning may be infected, officials say (stock)
Fans pictured above attending the Colombian singer’s concert at the New Jersey MetLife stadium
Further details of the case were not revealed, including where they sat in the stadium, where they had traveled from, or how they had arrived at the venue.
The New Jersey Transit was on strike at the time of the concert, but some did reach the venue using Coach USA buses that took attendees from the Port Authority to the stadium for the shows.
Officials said that, at present, no associated cases had been detected.
The MetLife was the second venue on the US leg of Shakira’s world tour, after she performed in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 13.
Her tour is set to take in another 14 US cities: Detroit, Boston, Washington DC, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Arlington, San Antonio, Houston, Inglewood, Phoenix, San Diego, Las Vegas and San Francisco.
Measles is a highly infectious disease that patients can pass to nine out of ten people exposed who are not vaccinated.
It passes via droplets expelled via coughs and sneezes, which can hang in the air for up to two hours after a patient passes.
Illness begins with flu-like symptoms, before a patient develops a characteristic rash which starts at the hairline and then spreads across the whole body.
Shakira performed two sets from 7.30pm to 1am on May 15 at the venue
The Colombian singer is pictured above at the show in MetLife
The disease is particularly dangerous for young children, with the CDC saying one in 20 unvaccinated children who are infected develop pneumonia while one in 1,000 suffer from encephalitis — or brain swelling that can cause permanent damage.
One to three in every 1,000 unvaccinated children who are infected also die from the disease.
Shakira’s MetLife concert was a major hit, where she also brought out Pitbull, Rauw Alejandro and Wyclef Jean — who she sung her top song ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ with.
It comes after New Jersey health officials released an alert warning of a measles exposure at the main airport on Monday last week.
The infected individual traveled through Newark Liberty International Airport’s Terminal B, potentially exposing hundreds to the world’s most infectious disease.
Anyone who was in the airport between 12.30pm and 4pm that day was warned to monitor for symptoms.
The two infectious patients that triggered the alert are not thought to be related.
