South Carolina battles accelerating measles outbreak, hundreds quarantined

South Carolina health officials say an outbreak of measles in the state is “accelerating” thanks to low vaccination rates and holiday travel, adding to the nationwide spike in measles cases this year.

As of Wednesday, officials report that 111 cases have been documented in the state’s northwest region, bringing the total to 114 since January. Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist for the South Carolina Department of Public Health, said the outbreak isn’t going away any time soon.

“We are faced with ongoing transmission that we anticipate will go on for many more weeks,” Bell said at a Wednesday news briefing. Bell said 27 new cases were reported since December 5, calling it “a significant increase … in a short period of time.”

Bell said that of the 111 cases reported, 105 were unvaccinated, with another three being partially vaccinated, two with unknown vaccination history, and one who was fully vaccinated. Bell also reported that 254 people were under a three-week quarantine.

In the most affected counties, the K-12 vaccination rates for measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) stand at approximately 90%, below the 95% doctors say is necessary to prevents outbreaks. When given two doses of the MMR vaccine as a child, a person only has a 3% chance of contracting the disease. Bell said that a “significant portion” of people quarantined were children.

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The outbreak in South Carolina is just part of a nationwide surge in measles. Since January, more than 1,900 cases have been reported in the U.S., a massive increase from 2024, which may cost the US its “measles-free” status. Besides causing flu-like symptoms, including high fever and blotchy, red rash, measles can cause serious long-term damage to the body’s immune system, weakening its ability to fight new infections. It can be fatal in some cases, with three deaths reported so far this year.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has faced mounting scrutiny and criticism for his handling of the outbreaks. Kennedy, an opponent of vaccines, downplayed the danger in April while on a trip to measles-ravaged West Texas.

“Every child who gets measles gets a headline,” Kennedy said. “When I was kid, there were 2 million measles cases a year and nobody wrote about them.”