Possible Measles Exposure Reported In Manhattan: See Where

NEW YORK CITY — New Yorkers may have been exposed to measles in the Lower East Side and SoHo, health officials disclosed.

The city's health department has said there are two cases linked to the exposure. It's still not clear how many people may have been exposed.

The health department is currently working to identify and notify individuals who may have been exposed.

There have been 13 reported measles cases in New York City so far this year. Last year, the city had reported 14 measles cases in 2024, compared to just one case in 2023.

Measles symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, watery red eyes, and a rash that usually appears between three and five days after symptoms begin.

Measles was virtually eradicated in North and South America by 2016, due to childhood vaccines that have been in use since 1963. However, the progress was set back in 2018 due to gaps in vaccines in other countries that led to outbreaks, scientists say.

In America, most children are vaccinated at a young age. Because the disease is so contagious, it requires at least 95 percent of a local population to be vaccinated in order to prevent its spread, health officials say.