Measles Alert At Newark Airport; Traveler Continued To NY: DOH

NEWARK, NJ — 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 Friday, Sept. 28.

The DOH wrote:

“The individual was infectious on that day and may have traveled to other areas of the airport. If you were in the airport on September 28 between 5:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., you may have been exposed to measles, and if infected could develop symptoms as late as October 19. The individual traveled on to Rockland County, NY and there were no further exposures in New Jersey.”

Anyone who suspects an exposure was 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, DOH officials said.

The DOH stated:

“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.”

Additional information on what to do if you've been exposed to measles is available at: www.state.nj.us/health/cd/documents/topics/measles/measles_exposure_guidance_public.pdf

For more information about measles, contact your health care provider or visit the New Jersey Department of Health website at www.state.nj.us/health/cd/topics/measles.shtml

2018 MEASLES ALERTS AT NEWARK AIRPORT

In May, 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.

• See related article: Newark Airport Measles Alert Is 3rd This Year

In March, 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.

• See related article: Measles Alert At Newark Airport; Child Was 'Infectious,' DOH Says

In January, 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.

• See related article: New Jersey Measles Alert; College Student Flew Into Newark

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