Health officials have issued a warning that thousands of travelers at a prominent East Coast airport could have been exposed to measles.

A confirmed case of measles has been reported in the Baltimore metropolitan area involving a resident who recently returned from international travel.

The infected individual was present in the customs area of the international arrivals section at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on April 12, between 7:50 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Additionally, the person sought medical attention at a FastMed Urgent Care facility on April 14 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and again on April 17 from noon to 3:30 p.m. They also visited both the emergency and pediatric emergency departments at Sinai Hospital on April 17, from 3:30 p.m. to 7:10 p.m.

Authorities have not disclosed specific details about the individual, such as their age or vaccination status, nor have they revealed the origin of the person’s international travel.

Efforts are currently underway to identify individuals who may have come into contact with the infected person. Measles is highly contagious and can linger in the air for up to two hours after an infected person has left the vicinity. It takes as little as 15 minutes of exposure to potentially contract the virus.

Maryland Department of Health is also warning anyone, particularly unvaccinated individuals, who may have been exposed to the virus to watch for symptoms, which typically start as a cough or fever.

It is also urging the public to ensure they are up to date on the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Two doses of the shot slash the risk of infection by 97 percent. For unvaccinated people, nine in ten of those exposed to the virus will get infected.

Passengers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport may have been exposed to measles, health officials have warned

‘Vaccination remains essential to protecting ourselves, our families, and our communities against measles and other infectious diseases,’ Dr Meg Sullivan, Maryland Department of Health deputy secretary for public health services, said. 

‘Talk with your healthcare provider to ensure you and your family are up to date with all recommended vaccines, including the MMR vaccine.’

The MMR vaccine is typically given once between ages 12 and 15 months and again between ages four and six. 

Nationwide, 92.5 percent of kindergarteners are fully vaccinated against measles, below the CDC’s 95 percent threshold for herd immunity. In Maryland, 96 percent of kindergarteners have been fully vaccinated. 

Measles, which is highly infectious, is characterized by cough, fever, a distinctive, blotchy rash that starts on the face before spreading down the body and tiny white spots inside the mouth called Koplik spots. 

The virus spreads through direct contact with infectious droplets or through the air. Patients with a measles infection are contagious from four days before the rash through four days after the rash appears. Enclosed areas like airports and planes are extremely risky locations for disease transmission. 

It first invades the respiratory system, then spreads to the lymph nodes and throughout the body. As a result, the virus can affect the lungs, brain and central nervous system. 

Measles causes a distinctive rash. In severe cases, it can also lead to pneumonia and brain swelling (stock image)

While measles sometimes causes milder symptoms, including diarrhea, sore throat and achiness, it leads to pneumonia in roughly six percent of otherwise healthy children, and more often in malnourished children.

Though the brain swelling that measles can trigger is rare, occurring in about one in 1,000 cases, it is deadly in roughly 15 to 20 percent of those who develop it, while about 20 percent are left with permanent neurological damage, such as brain damage, deafness or intellectual disability. 

Measles also severely damages a child’s immune system, making them susceptible to other potentially devastating bacterial and viral infections they were previously protected against. 

Before MMR vaccines became available in the 1960s, measles caused epidemics with up to 2.6 million global deaths every year. By 2023, that number had fallen to roughly 107,000 deaths. 

Nationwide, 2026 is already the second-worst year for measles cases in 34 years.

So far, the US has recorded 1,748 cases of the disease, with ten infections recorded in the week to April 12, according to CDC data. 

This is already nearly three times the 652 measles infections that were recorded by this time last year. In 2025, the US registered 2,285 measles cases.

Some 98 measles patients have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been recorded. There were three fatalities last year.