A traveler with measles passed through LAX. Officials urge caution amid World Cup crowds

LOS ANGELES - A person infected with measles flew on a transpacific flight and passed through Los Angeles International Airport last week, potentially exposing other passengers to the highly contagious disease.

This latest case comes as travelers surge into Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area for the FIFA World Cup, and as measles is on the upswing - posing a particular risk to the unvaccinated, including infants who are too young to be inoculated and for whom the disease can be especially dangerous.

“I think they seem to be popping up more and more often,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UC San Francisco infectious diseases expert, “and that’s because it really reflects how much measles there is - not just in the U.S. or even Mexico and Canada, but around the world.”

This is the fourth measles case confirmed in a passenger passing through LAX while possibly contagious this year, and the sixth case overall reported by L.A. County health officials. Just a few days earlier, health officials in the Bay Area warned that a measles-infected passenger had also traveled through San Francisco International Airport and potentially exposed others to the disease while visiting stores in San José.

“With summer travel underway and Los Angeles County welcoming large gatherings and international visitors during World Cup events, the risk of exposure to infectious diseases may increase,” said Dr. Muntu Davis, the L.A. County health officer. “We urge everyone to confirm their immunity and get the (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine if needed, especially before traveling and attending crowded events.”

Ahead of the World Cup matches that began last week in Inglewood and Santa Clara, health officials warned the public to keep an eye out for symptoms of measles. They also urged individuals to stay home if they’re sick; cover their coughs or sneezes with a tissue, upper sleeve or elbow; consider wearing a mask indoors, especially in crowded places, and wash their hands with soap and warm water.

More than 150,000 domestic and international travelers are expected from June 12 through July 10 in L.A. County, which is hosting eight World Cup matches. Additional fan festivals and other large gatherings are also being held for the event.

“Because measles spreads very easily, everyone is encouraged to become familiar with symptoms of measles and inform a doctor right away if symptoms appear, especially if they were exposed to measles, are not vaccinated and/or have recently traveled,” health officials said.

Symptoms include a rash, which can appear three to five days after onset of illness, cough, runny nose and red and watery eyes, as well as a fever that can be higher than 101 degrees.

“The ‘measles rash’ typically starts at the face and then spreads down to the rest of the body,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health said. Infected people can spread the virus up to four days before they develop a rash and up to four days after it appears.

In the most recent L.A. County case, a person with measles arrived on a flight from Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific Airlines Flight 884, which landed at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal on June 11. People at the terminal between 10 a.m. and noon that day may have been exposed to measles, health officials say.

The person then traveled to the Hilton Los Angeles Airport Hotel at 5711 W. Century Blvd., where people may have been exposed to the virus between 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.

Anyone who was present in these locations during these times “may be at risk of developing measles from seven to 21 days after being exposed,” L.A. County health officials said.

People who have been fully vaccinated against measles in the past, or who have had the disease before, are probably protected “but should still monitor for symptoms,” officials said.

“People who are unimmunized or have unknown measles immunization status are at higher risk and should monitor for symptoms closely” through July 2, the health department said. Other people may have been exposed at nearby health facilities, which are contacting their patients and employees directly.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known and can spread easily, especially among unvaccinated or undervaccinated populations. The virus can spread through coughing and sneezing - hanging in the air and living on surfaces for hours after an infected person has left a room.

Large international events like the World Cup, combined with increasing measles transmission, “create favorable conditions for the spread of the disease,” warned the Pan American Health Organization, a United Nations-backed health agency. In North and South America, there have been more than 20,000 measles cases so far this year - quadruple the number from the same period in 2025.

There have been 25 measles deaths reported in the Americas this year, 13 in Mexico and 12 in Guatemala.

Measles has spread as a result of travel to international sports competitions before. It happened during the 2007 Little League World Series in Pennsylvania, after a 12-year-old boy on the Japanese team had been exposed to a sibling with a measles-like illness, but traveled anyway despite having a sore throat and malaise, according to a report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The boy had an unknown vaccination status.

Among the people infected were a 53-year-old woman who sat one row in front of the boy on a flight from Detroit to Baltimore; a 25-year-old man working as a federal airport officer who was in the Detroit airport customs area on the same day as the boy; and a 40-year-old man who met the boy and later suffered a seizure, a fever of 105.7 degrees and pneumonia before recovering. None of the three had documentation of measles vaccination or had previously contracted measles.

Until recently, cases in the U.S. were rare - so much so that the disease was considered officially eliminated nationwide in 2000.

But that status is now in jeopardy. The U.S. is in the midst of a troubling measles resurgence, with annual caseloads hitting levels not seen in more than three decades. The largest number of measles cases nationally in recent history was in 1990, when 27,808 were reported. That number shrank to 9,643 the next year and 2,126 in 1992, before sinking to as few as a few dozen per year in the early 2000s.

Last year, 2,288 cases were reported.

This year isn’t even halfway done and already 2,073 cases have been reported, according to data from the CDC.

Mexico, which is jointly hosting the FIFA World Cup with the U.S. and Canada this year, had 11,889 measles cases reported over a six-month period ending in April. Only three nations had more during that time, according to the World Health Organization. Canada has reported 1,071 measles cases so far this year.

In California, there have been 50 confirmed measles infections so far this year - 47 of which were in individuals who either had not been vaccinated, or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to the state Department of Public Health. It’s the highest number in a single calendar year since 2019, when there were 72.

Besides Los Angeles, measles cases have also been reported in Orange, Riverside, Santa Clara, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Placer, Shasta and Napa counties so far this year, according to the state Department of Public Health.

In the Bay Area, health officials over the weekend warned about a measles-infected person who arrived at San Francisco International Airport on June 8 and potentially exposed others to the virus while passing through passport control, customs and the international bagging area between 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Other places of potential exposure were in San José that day: between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Trader Joe’s at 635 Coleman Ave. and at the International Halal Market at 960 E. Santa Clara St.

Doctors warn that measles is especially dangerous for babies who are too young to be vaccinated. L.A. County in September reported the death of a school-age child from a complication of measles. The child had been infected as an infant when they were too young to be vaccinated, and years later developed subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE, a fatal disease that targets the brain.

According to the California Department of Public Health, at least 17 people in California have died from SSPE since 1998.

At least two babies have been infected with measles in California so far this year.

In April, officials in San Francisco reported that a baby under 1 year old had been infected during an international trip. It was San Francisco’s first measles case since 2019. The infant’s family was all vaccinated.

Later that month, the Orange County Health Care Agency confirmed that another infant who had traveled internationally had contracted measles.

“Immunizing household members, including children, adolescents and adults, is the best way to protect infants who are too young to receive the MMR vaccine,” the agency said.

Orange County also reported a confirmed measles case in a toddler in January. That youngster had not traveled before getting infected.

The measles vaccine is recommended to be given in two doses - first at 12 to 15 months of age and again between 4 and 6 years of age, according to the CDC.

However, if babies or toddlers are traveling internationally, those age 1 to 3 years old should get their second dose of the measles vaccine, California health officials say. The second dose can be given at least 28 days after the first.

Babies age 6 to 11 months who are traveling internationally should get one dose of the measles vaccine, according to the CDC, and then two doses after their first birthday based on the routine vaccine schedule. And parents of babies in this age group who are traveling to a “domestic measles outbreak area” should consult with a healthcare provider about getting a measles vaccination for their infant, the agency said.

When the vaccine is given at 6 months of age, 76% developed protective antibodies against measles, and when given at 8 to 9 months, 85% developed antibodies, Chin-Hong said. “This is in contrast to infants 12 months and older, where more than 95% develop protective antibodies.”

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Times staff writer Karen Garcia contributed to this report.

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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 1:13 PM.