New Jersey health officials are asking transit riders to be wary of potential exposure to measles after an infected rider rode the rails last week.
The state department of health says that a Hudson County resident with a confirmed case of measles rode the PATH train and Light Rail between August 13 and 15. Officials urged riders to make certain they have received their measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shots, the department says, and stay vigilant for the symptoms of measles.
Those symptoms include high fever, cough, red eyes, a runny nose, and a distinctive rash which appears a few days after symptoms begin, usually beginning with red spots at the hairline. But measles symptoms may not appear for 10 or 14 days after exposure .
The person with measles rode during morning and evening commute hours on the three days they used public transit. They took the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, specifically using the 8th Street station and also rode PATH Newark – World Trade Center Line and spent time at Exchange Place Station in Jersey City.
Though New Jersey does not yet have an official measles outbreak, other states across the country are seeing a recent surge in the virus which can be spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks, releasing tiny droplets into the air.
Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but many Americans began opting out of vaccinations, based on medically dubious claims about their potential side effects.
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reports in 2025 so far there have been 1,378 cases more than any year since 1992. Measles can cause ear infections, diarrhea and pneumonia, according to the school, and in severe cases can result in brain damage and death.
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