H. J. Barbian, M. Funk, S. R. Black, M. K. Hayden, S. Zelencik, B. F. Borah, D. Zhang, A. H. Bartlett, L. K. Kociolek, A. Rosenthal, N. Farhat, V. E. McSorley, A. Kittner
In 2024, Chicago experienced a measles virus outbreak. Air samples collected as part of routine respiratory virus surveillance from three hospitals that received measles patients were retrospectively analyzed. Measles virus was detected in air samples from one emergency department across five weeks when measles patients were present and another when no known cases were present. Two of three viral sequences derived from air samples were identical to measles patients. The source of one diverging sequence could not be identified and may represent a case not identified by traditional surveillance methods. Air sampling may supplement measles investigation, surveillance and response.