Arizona Working To Contain Measles Outbreak Days Before Super Bowl

Tom Brady’s cold isn’t the only illness that’s making waves in the days leading up to Super Bowl XLIX.

Arizona health officials are tracking more than 1,000 people who might have been exposed to measles, The New York Times reports. The state has confirmed seven cases of the highly contagious virus, with two of those being found in Maricopa County, the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.

The New York Times reports officials in three counties in the Phoenix area — Maricopa, Gila and Pinal — have asked residents who have not been vaccinated and who might have been exposed to stay home for 21 days.

“Measles is wildly infectious, which is why it is so important that we identify cases quickly and do our best to stop the spread early on,” Bob England, director of the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, said in a statement per Bloomberg.com. “That means keeping unvaccinated people who have been exposed to the disease away from others.”

The Arizona cases are linked to a California outbreak that started at Disneyland.

Thumbnail photo via Andrew Weber/USA TODAY Sports Images