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The ongoing measles outbreak in South Carolina – one of the nation’s largest in recent months – continues to grow in the wake of the holiday season, with 26 new infections reported Tuesday.
This surge in new cases raises to 211 the total number of people infected in the outbreak, which began last fall and is centered in Spartanburg County, along the state’s northwestern border.
Nearly all of those infected have been children and teens, and nearly all have been unvaccinated, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health. Four people, including children and adults, have been hospitalized for complications of the disease.
“The sharp increase in cases and the number of people currently in quarantine does not indicate the outbreak is waning,” said Dr. Linda Bell, the state epidemiologist who is leading the department’s measles response.
“The primary challenge to controlling measles spread is the lower than needed vaccination coverage to achieve herd immunity in the community,” she said.
Statewide, the percentage of students who are fully vaccinated with two doses of measles vaccine has fallen below the 95% needed to protect against outbreaks. At some individual schools, vaccination rates can be significantly lower.
South Carolina’s outbreak is among 49 U.S. outbreaks reported during 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationwide, these outbreaks were responsible for most of the 2,065 confirmed measles cases nationwide last year, according to CDC data that was most recently updated on Dec. 31.
It’s the first time in more than 30 years that the number of measles cases in the United States has exceeded 2,000. There were three deaths.
Arizona, which also is experiencing a recent outbreak of measles along the Arizona-Utah border, had identified 214 infections as of its update on Tuesday. In Utah, 156 people had been diagnosed with measles in that outbreak as of Dec. 30.
Texas, which announced the end to its significant measles outbreak in August, confirmed more than 760 cases, with 99 people hospitalized and two deaths of school-age children.
The United States was deemed to have eliminated measles in 2000. But the ongoing outbreaks that began last year have put the country at risk of losing its measles elimination status.
In South Carolina, state health officials on Tuesday said 144 people are in quarantine and seven more are in isolation. For those in quarantine, the latest end date is Jan. 28.
The outbreak shows no signs of being brought under control. The state health department said the newly identified cases potentially exposed others to measles in multiple public settings, including schools and churches.
It typically takes 7 to 12 days – but sometimes up to 21 days – after exposure for people to start showing initial symptoms, such as cough, runny nose, red eyes, and a fever, which are later followed by a rash. That means those who were exposed and became infected in late December will start showing symptoms now and in the coming days.
“This disease finds pockets of unvaccinated folks and just runs through those pockets like wildfire,” said Dr. Robert Oliverio, chief medical officer for ambulatory care and population health for Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston. “It tends to hit hard. These couple of school systems in the Upstate now are really getting decimated.”
While the outbreak has so far been centered around Spartanburg County on the northern edge of the state, he said he wouldn’t be surprised to see cases in other parts of the state. “I can’t imagine that we’ll get through this season, particularly with schools getting back in and kids traveling around.”
A person who has measles is contagious starting four days before the disease’s hallmark rash appears and continues to be able to spread the virus through four days after symptoms appear. South Carolina health officials have emphasized that this means people can spread the disease before they know they are infected.
“It is very important for those with mild illness or who are in quarantine to stay home to protect others,” the state health department said Tuesday. “We encourage employers to support workers in following DPH recommendations to stay out of work while ill or in quarantine. which also protects businesses, other workers, and clients.”
Among the places where new public exposures to measles have occurred: Sugar Ridge Elementary and Boiling Springs Elementary on Dec. 18 and 19, prior to the schools’ winter break. Nine students of these schools are in quarantine, state health officials said.
Between Dec. 19 and Dec. 25, exposures occurred at four churches: Tabernacle of Salvation Church, Slavic Pentecostal Church of Spartanburg, Unitarian Universalist Church of Spartanburg, and Ark of Salvation Church.
Over the weekend, South Carolina health officials issued another public alert that a person infected with measles – who was unaware they were infectious – had made Christmas Eve visits in Greenville, S.C., to a Best Buy store and a downtown gastropub called the Nose Dive. Then on Dec. 27, the person attended a planetarium show at the Spartanburg Library.
Alison Young is Healthbeat’s senior national reporter. You can reach her at ayoung@healthbeat.org or through the messaging app Signal at alisonyoungreports.48
