A measles exposure could happen whenever, wherever.
Thousands of concertgoers may have come in contact with the virus at a Shakira show at the MetLife Stadium last Thursday, according to an alert from the New Jersey Department of Health this week. The exposure comes as measles cases rise nationally, including in the greater metropolitan area.
The virus was detected in a non-Jersey resident who attended the concert of the Colombian pop star, according to the Health Department. It was the second infected out-of-towner discovered in the state that week, the first being in Newark Airport’s Terminal B on Monday, May 12, a day when hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled after a series of radar outages. People who attended the performance from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. should be on the lookout for symptoms such as fever, cough and red-spotted rashes, which can manifest as late as June 6 if infected, the advisory stated.
As of last Friday, more than 1,000 people nationally had been infected with measles so far this year, more than three times the number of infections in all of 2024, according to data from the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. Only 3% of those cases are known to have received at least one dose of the two-dose inoculation for measles, mumps and rubella. In New York, seven cases have been reported, including several among children in low-vaccination-rate areas.
Measles is an airborne virus, spread through coughing, sneezing and contact with saliva. In serious cases, infected individuals can contract pneumonia and their brains can swell. Measles can also lead to complications with pregnancy, including miscarriage, premature birth and low-birth-weight babies.
Attendees of the potential super-spreader were already upset; the packed concert was also upended by the then-impending transit strike, which caused hours of traffic and delays for fans leaving the event.
The Health Department is urging people to get vaccinated and call a provider before seeking medical care if they believe they were exposed.
