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There is an outbreak of measles in South Carolina Reportedly “accelerating” thanks to a combination of unaffiliated student and large gatherings where The virus can spread rapidly,
As of Wednesday, 111 cases of measles have been reported in the northwestern region of South Carolina. nbc news reportThis area includes Greenville and Spartanburg,
“We are facing continued transmission that we anticipate will continue for several more weeks,” Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist for the South Carolina Department of Public Health, said during a news briefing Wednesday.
27 cases have been reported since Friday.
Bell said this was a “significant increase in our cases in a short period of time,” noting that holiday gatherings and other large events — paired with less than optimal vaccination rates – are responsible for the spike.
The K-12 vaccination rate for measles, mumps and rubella in Spartanburg County was 90 percent for the 2024-2025 school year, according to data compiled by NBC News. Although the numbers are high, doctors say at least a 95 percent vaccination rate is needed to prevent outbreaks from occurring. of neighboring Greenville County mmr The vaccination rate was 90.5 percent.
Robert F. Kennedy, the secretary of President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services, has long been skeptical of the vaccine, although he endorsed the MMR vaccine in April after a surge in measles cases in some parts of the country.
South Carolina officials have provided mobile health clinics to help give MMR shots in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, but Bell said some locals took advantage of them.
“I can tell you that a relatively small number of doses were administered at each of the mobile health unit clinics that we offered,” she said during the press conference.
The MMR vaccine, which is usually administered around a child’s first and fifth birthdays, provides 97 percent protection against infection.
measles is most common known infectious viruses on the planet and According to the World Health Organization, serious complications and death can occur. It can hang in the air for hours, and any unvaccinated person will become infected if they come in contact with it.
According to Bell, the majority of infections in South Carolina are occurring in Spartanburg County schools. Because it takes about 21 days for symptoms to appear after exposure to measles, the individuals who have been quarantined – of which there are 254 – must remain in isolation for three weeks.
This reality has proven disruptive to affected schools, where some unvaccinated students have already been placed in 21-day quarantine due to exposure to measles.
“Vaccination is the best way to prevent the disruption that measles causes to people’s education, employment and other factors in people’s lives in our communities,” Bell said.
In 2025, 1,912 cases of measles have been reported across the U.S., mostly in unvaccinated children and adolescents, with 47 outbreaks reported since the beginning of 2025. This is almost three times the number of outbreaks reported in 2024. Other hot spots outside South Carolina include 176 cases in Arizona and 115 in Utah, according to state health officials.
Symptoms of measles include headache, high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, white spots inside the mouth, and a rash that may cover a large part of the infected person’s body.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 11 to 12 percent of measles cases require hospitalization. three people are dead And this year in America, more than 200 people have had to be hospitalized due to the virus.