Metropolitan Opera patron with measles prompts contact tracing

A person visited the Metropolitan Opera and at least one Manhattan restaurant while infected with measles, prompting an effort by the New York City health department to alert anyone who may have been exposed, a spokesperson said late Thursday.

The heath department is working with the Lincoln Center opera house to notify others in attendance, and also patrons at the restaurant, Norma, in Hell’s Kitchen, spokesperson Chantal Gomez told Newsday late Thursday in an email.

In general, Gomez said, the department interviews measles patients to determine where they could have exposed others, then works with those locations to notify individuals with whom the infected person could have come in contact.

“The risk to the general public is low due to high vaccination coverage among New Yorkers and there have been no reports of secondary cases,” Gomez said in a statement. “This is a reminder of the importance of vaccination, which is the best protection against measles.”

The person, who also visited a second city restaurant while infected, had not been vaccinated against measles, Gomez said.

On its Facebook page, Norma posted that the infected person visited the restaurant on April 25 between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. None of the restaurant's employees had been infected, the post continued, “because they are all vaccinated.”

The Gothamist reported Thursday the infected patron attended an April 25 matinee performance of La Bohème. Gomez did not say the name or date of the performance.

The opera house did not immediately return Newsday’s request for comment.

A total of 10 New York State residents, including an unvaccinated Nassau County child under the age of 5, have tested positive for measles thus far this year, Newsday previously reported.

The five New York City cases are all connected to international travel, which is not uncommon, Gomez said.

The agency advises that children receive their first dose of the MMR vaccine at 12 months and their second dose between ages 4 and 6. It also recommends parents immunize infants between 6 and 11 months with an extra dose of the MMR vaccine if they plan to bring them overseas.