Japan warns on measles after infected fan joins Bieber concert

TOKYO — Japanese authorities have warned of a possible measles outbreak after a fan who went to a Justin Bieber concert near Tokyo was diagnosed with the contagious disease, officials said on Friday (Aug 26).

A 19-year-old man had a fever of more than 39°C and a rash over his body after returning from Indonesia earlier this month, the Disease Control and Prevention Center (DCC) and local media have said.

Despite the condition, the man, whose name was withheld, went to Bieber’s concert on Aug 14 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, where some 25,000 fans gathered for the event, they said.

The man, from the western Japanese city of Nishinomiya, then stopped in Tokyo and neighbouring Kanagawa prefecture before returning home on Aug 19, when he was finally diagnosed with measles.

“Measles is highly infectious,” an official at Japan’s health and welfare ministry told AFP.

“It could lead to a fatal case,” he added, issuing warnings to hospitals across the nation to be aware of an outbreak.

Concert organisers on their website also asked those who attended to see doctors if they developed symptoms.

So far, however, there have been no reports of anyone who attended the concert contracting measles. AFP