South Carolina Measles Outbreak Expands, Reaches North Carolina and Ohio

South Carolina is currently facing a significant measles outbreak, which has escalated to one of the most severe in the United States. In just three days last week, state health officials confirmed 99 new cases, bringing the total to 310 cases in Spartanburg County alone over the holiday period.

This outbreak has not only affected South Carolina but has also led to cases in neighboring states like North Carolina and Ohio, primarily among families who traveled to the outbreak area in the northwestern part of South Carolina.

Health officials anticipated this surge in cases, attributing it to increased holiday travel and family gatherings during the school break. The situation is exacerbated by low vaccination rates in the region. As of Friday, data from the state health department indicated that 200 individuals were in quarantine, with nine in isolation.

Dr. Linda Bell, who leads the state health department’s outbreak response, emphasized that the number of individuals in quarantine does not accurately reflect the total number exposed. “An increasing number of public exposure sites are being identified, with likely hundreds more people exposed who are not aware they should be in quarantine if they are not immune to measles,” she stated.

Since the outbreak began in October, Dr. Bell has consistently warned that the virus is spreading undetected in the area. Hundreds of schoolchildren have been quarantined, with some experiencing multiple quarantines.

South Carolina is currently one of two active hotspots for measles in the U.S. The other is located along the Arizona-Utah border, where 337 cases have been reported since August.

Last year marked the worst year for measles in the U.S. since 1991, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 2,144 confirmed cases across 44 states. As the one-year anniversary of the Texas-New Mexico-Oklahoma outbreak approaches—an incident that sickened at least 900 individuals and resulted in three fatalities—health experts are increasingly concerned that this vaccine-preventable virus is on the brink of a significant resurgence in the U.S.

If this trend continues, the U.S. risks losing its status of having eliminated local measles transmission, a status Canada lost in November. International health experts have noted that the same strain of measles is spreading throughout the Americas.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Topics
North Carolina
Ohio
South Carolina

South Carolina is currently facing a significant measles outbreak, which has escalated to one of the most severe in the United States. In just three days last week, state health officials confirmed 99 new cases, bringing the total to 310 cases in Spartanburg County alone over the holiday period.

This outbreak has not only affected South Carolina but has also led to cases in neighboring states like North Carolina and Ohio, primarily among families who traveled to the outbreak area in the northwestern part of South Carolina.

Health officials anticipated this surge in cases, attributing it to increased holiday travel and family gatherings during the school break. The situation is exacerbated by low vaccination rates in the region. As of Friday, data from the state health department indicated that 200 individuals were in quarantine, with nine in isolation.

Dr. Linda Bell, who leads the state health department’s outbreak response, emphasized that the number of individuals in quarantine does not accurately reflect the total number exposed. “An increasing number of public exposure sites are being identified, with likely hundreds more people exposed who are not aware they should be in quarantine if they are not immune to measles,” she stated.

Since the outbreak began in October, Dr. Bell has consistently warned that the virus is spreading undetected in the area. Hundreds of schoolchildren have been quarantined, with some experiencing multiple quarantines.

South Carolina is currently one of two active hotspots for measles in the U.S. The other is located along the Arizona-Utah border, where 337 cases have been reported since August.

Last year marked the worst year for measles in the U.S. since 1991, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 2,144 confirmed cases across 44 states. As the one-year anniversary of the Texas-New Mexico-Oklahoma outbreak approaches—an incident that sickened at least 900 individuals and resulted in three fatalities—health experts are increasingly concerned that this vaccine-preventable virus is on the brink of a significant resurgence in the U.S.

If this trend continues, the U.S. risks losing its status of having eliminated local measles transmission, a status Canada lost in November. International health experts have noted that the same strain of measles is spreading throughout the Americas.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Topics
North Carolina
Ohio
South Carolina