Shakira performing at MetLife stadium. Credit: Instagram @shakira
A person infected with measles attended Shakira’s May 15 concert at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, prompting a mass exposure alert, according to U.S. health officials.
The event drew tens of thousands of fans. 2025 is shaping up to be the year of the largest outbreak of measles in the US in 25 years.
Health officials issue warning after Shakira MetLife concert
The New Jersey Department of Health confirmed on Wednesday, May 21, that a person infected with measles attended Shakira’s concert in East Rutherford on Thursday, May 15, while infectious. In a statement, the department said anyone at MetLife Stadium between 7:30 pm on May 15 and 1:00 am on May 16 may have been exposed to the virus, as reported by USA Today.
El País also reported that the infected individual was from outside New Jersey, and that this was the second stop of Shakira’s U.S. tour, titled Women Don’t Cry Anymore. The stadium, which seats up to 82,500 people, was near capacity.
Officials urged those who attended the event and suspect symptoms to call their doctor before seeking treatment in person. This allows hospitals to take infection-control measures in advance to limit the virus’s spread.
No linked cases yet, but symptoms may still appear
As of May 21, no measles cases linked to the Shakira concert have been confirmed, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. However, the department warned that symptoms might not develop until June 6, due to measles’ 7- to 14-day incubation period.
This was New Jersey’s second measles exposure event in less than a week. On May 12, a traveller infected with measles spent several hours at Newark Liberty International Airport’s Terminal B, according to the state health department.
CDC confirms over 1,000 measles cases in 2025
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that 1,024 measles cases have been confirmed across at least 30 U.S. states as of May 16. According to the CDC, this marks the largest U.S. outbreak since 2000, when measles was declared eliminated nationally.
The CDC says that:
- 92 per cent of measles cases are outbreak-related
- 30 per cent of infections are in children under age five
- 38 per cent involve those aged 5 to 19
- 128 patients have been hospitalised, including 69 children under five
- There have been three deaths: two children and one adult
The largest outbreak is centred in West Texas, where 722 cases have been reported since late January, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The CDC further noted that 96 per cent of cases in 2025 were either in unvaccinated individuals or those with unknown vaccination status.
Why measles spreads so easily
According to the CDC, measles is ‘highly contagious’ and can spread when an infected person ‘coughs, sneezes, or even breathes in a room.’ The virus is able to survive in the air for up to two hours after the person has left.
Measles symptoms, as outlined by the CDC, usually appear 7 to 14 days after exposure and include:
- High fever
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Red, watery eyes
- A rash that appears 3 to 5 days after other symptoms begin
Complications can be serious. The CDC warns that measles can cause pneumonia, ear infections, diarrhoea, hearing loss, and in severe cases, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), which occurs in about 1 in every 1,000 infected individuals. El País adds that encephalitis carries a high risk of death or long-term neurological damage.
Health experts urge vaccination against measles (MMR jab)
The CDC stresses that the best protection against measles is the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, which is 97 per cent effective after two doses.
According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, adults born before 1957 are generally considered immune, having likely had measles as children.
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