--- title: 2 Measles Cases Reported at O'Hare Airport in 2 Days description: Some passengers who traveled through O'Hare International Airport last week may have been exposed to measles. canonical: https://time.com/5107935/measels-o-hare-airport-chicago/ author: Andee Erickson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-18T19:40:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:43.595Z article:section: Health og:title: Travelers at O'Hare Airport Exposed to Measles og:description: Measles is highly contagious og:url: https://time.com/5107935/measels-o-hare-airport-chicago/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Travelers at O'Hare Airport Exposed to Measles twitter:description: Measles is highly contagious twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Travelers at O'Hare Airport Exposed to 2 Measles Cases in 2 Days > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year [Watch (HLS stream): Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ityYoAe6.m3u8) (1:49)  _Published 2018-01-18. Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year_ by [Andee Erickson](https://time.com/author/andee-erickson/) ## Andee Erickson Jan 18, 2018 7:40 PM UTC by [Andee Erickson](https://time.com/author/andee-erickson/) ## Andee Erickson Jan 18, 2018 7:40 PM UTC Public health officials are warning passengers who traveled through Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport last week after two causes of measles were reported there in two days. The first report occurred on Jan. 9 when a passenger landed at Terminal 5, the international terminal, then departed from a domestic terminal. The following day another passenger with measles landed at the same terminal, according to the [Illinois Department of Public Health](http://www.dph.illinois.gov/news/separate-potential-measles-exposure). Both passengers arrived at the airport with unrelated cases and there is no measles outbreak at the airport, the health department said. Travelers who were at O’Hare, one of the world’s busiest airports, on Jan. 9 between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and Jan. 10 between 6:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. could be at risk, the health department said. Public health officials are contacting everyone who was on flights with the infected individuals. Anyone who believes they were exposed is being urged to contact a doctor. Anyone who believes they are infected should call their doctor or emergency room in advance so that proper containment procedures can be put in place. Health officials are warning that measles is highly contagious. It is [transmitted through coughing or sneezing](https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/transmission.html) and the virus can live in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves. Those who have been vaccinated for measles as a child are not at high risk. People who have not been vaccinated are at the highest risk, health officials said. Only about 3% of people who have had two dosages of the measles vaccination can still get measles if exposed to the virus, according to the [Centers of Disease Control](https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/transmission.html). “It is important for everyone who can be vaccinated to get vaccinated, if they aren’t already,” Dr. Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer of the health department, [said in a statement Wednesday.](http://www.dph.illinois.gov/news/separate-potential-measles-exposure) “Getting vaccinated not only protects you, it protects others around you who are too young to get the vaccine or can’t receive it for medical reasons.” [Measles symptoms typically begin about 14 days after exposure,](https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/signs-symptoms.html) meaning infected people could show symptoms beginning Feb. 1\. Signs include high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, according to the CDC. The highly contagious virus . ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5107935/measels-o-hare-airport-chicago/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5107935/measels-o-hare-airport-chicago/"},"headline":"Travelers at O'Hare Airport Exposed to 2 Measles Cases in 2 Days","datePublished":"2018-01-18T19:40:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:43.595Z","description":"Measles is highly contagious","url":"https://time.com/5107935/measels-o-hare-airport-chicago/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andee Erickson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/andee-erickson/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5107935/measels-o-hare-airport-chicago/","name":"Travelers at O'Hare Airport Exposed to 2 Measles Cases in 2 Days"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year","description":"Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ityYoAe6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-01-18T18:34:06.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ityYoAe6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5107935/measels-o-hare-airport-chicago/","duration":"PT1M49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5107935/measels-o-hare-airport-chicago/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```