Health officials in Arizona, Illinois, and California are warning travelers about possible measles exposure after infectious travelers passed through major U.S. airports last week, prompting contact tracing efforts and public health advisories.
In Arizona, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health said a person infectious with measles traveled through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on June 17.
The agency said the traveler was at Sky Harbor Airport Terminal 4 between 6 and 9:30 a.m. and urged anyone who may have been exposed to monitor for symptoms and review guidance on the county's measles webpage.
The Chicago Department of Public Health said it is investigating a confirmed case involving an international traveler who arrived at O'Hare International Airport on June 17 after being exposed to measles outside the United States.
Health officials said the traveler was at O'Hare's Terminal 5 between 5:50 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. June 17 while infectious.
The department said it is working with the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and healthcare providers to identify and notify people who may have been exposed.
In Los Angeles County, public health officials said they are investigating a confirmed measles case involving a traveler who was infectious while passing through Hollywood Burbank Airport and other locations.
Officials said people at Gate A4 between 8:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. June 17, after the traveler arrived on Southwest Airlines Flight 4245, may have been exposed. Other potential exposures occurred at Gate A6 between 10:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. June 18 before the traveler departed on Southwest Flight 816.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also identified potential exposure sites at Thrifty Rental Car Service, 2627 N. Hollywood Way in Burbank, where the traveler was present from 9:20 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. June 17 and from 10:25 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. June 18.
Officials did not indicate whether the cases were related.
The CDC is working with state and local health departments to notify passengers seated near the infected traveler on the affected flights, officials said.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or breathes.
Symptoms typically include a high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, and a rash that usually appears several days after the fever begins. People can spread the virus before they develop the characteristic rash.
Health officials urged anyone who was in the identified locations at the listed times and is not immune through vaccination or prior infection to contact a healthcare provider if symptoms develop and to notify the provider before seeking care to help prevent further exposures.