Another case of measles has been confirmed in a person who traveled through Dulles International Airport last week, state health officials say.
The individual is a resident of another state, but they passed through the airport during the afternoon of Aug. 12, potentially exposing other travelers and workers, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced today (Wednesday).
The person is believed to have stopped at the airport’s main terminal, the TSA security checkpoint and Concourse B between 1 and 5 p.m. that day. The AeroTrain shuttle that takes passengers from the main terminal to Concourse B could also be a possible exposure site.
A VDH spokesperson told FFXnow that the person was taking a domestic flight from Dulles, but the exact destination isn’t being shared “to protect the privacy of the patient and the passengers on the flight.”
“Health officials are coordinating an effort to identify people who might have been exposed, including contacting potentially exposed passengers on specific flights,” the VDH said.
According to the VDH, anyone who may have been exposed but has received two doses of a measles vaccine is protected, so they don’t need to take any action. However, people who haven’t been vaccinated should contact a healthcare provider “promptly.”
From the press release:
- Watch for symptoms for 21 days after the date of your potential exposure. If you notice symptoms of measles, immediately isolate yourself by staying home. Contact your healthcare provider right away. If you need to seek healthcare, call ahead before going to your healthcare provider’s office or the emergency room to notify them that you may have been exposed to measles and ask them to call the local health department. This call will help protect other patients and staff.
- Anyone with an immunocompromising condition should consult with their healthcare provider if they have questions or develop symptoms.
- If you have received only one dose of a measles-containing vaccine, you are very likely to be protected and your risk of being infected with measles from any of these exposures is very low. However, to achieve the highest level of protection, contact your healthcare provider about getting a second vaccine dose.
This appears to be the fifth measles case this year confirmed in someone who traveled to or from Dulles Airport, based on VDH reports. There were two such cases reported on March 5, another on June 8 and again on June 19 in an international traveler who was visiting North Carolina.
Outside of potential travel-related exposures, there have been three confirmed cases of measles so far in 2025 among Virginia residents, according to the VDH.
Nationwide, as of Aug. 5, there have been 1,356 confirmed measles cases in 2025 across 41 different jurisdictions, including 32 outbreaks — twice the number of outbreaks reported in all of 2024, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly all cases this year (92%) have occurred in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.
The CDC paused weekly updates of its measles data on Aug. 13. A message on the webpage states only that updates will resume “as soon as possible.”
By early July, the U.S. had reported more measles cases this year than in any other since the disease was declared eliminated in the country in 2000, surpassing the previous high of 1,274 in 2019, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University’s International Vaccine Access Center.
“The ongoing outbreak we are seeing in the U.S. underscores the importance of maintaining adequate levels of measles vaccination,” IVAC Executive Director William Moss, co-lead of the center’s measles tracking project, said in a July 7 press release. “The U.S. is at risk of losing its measles elimination status should cases continue at this rate. As vaccine confidence continues to be undermined, immunization is more important than ever to end this outbreak and prevent future outbreaks from occurring.”
The resurgence of measles comes as the Trump administration pushes to slash the CDC’s funding and workforce. New U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the agency’s entire vaccine advisory committee in June and canceled nearly $500 million in grants and contracts for =mRNA vaccines, the technology that enabled the rapid development of vaccinations against COVID-19.
Highly contagious, measles spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes, according to the VDH. Symptoms typically start seven to 14 days after exposure with a fever of 101 degrees or higher, runny nose, watery red eyes and a cough before progressing to a rash.
“Measles is preventable through a safe and effective MMR vaccine,” the VDH said. “Two doses of the vaccine are given to provide lifetime protection. Virginia has high measles vaccination rates, with approximately 95% of kindergarteners fully vaccinated against measles.”
