Health officials in South Carolina on Friday reported 99 new cases of measles in three days, a sharp acceleration in the outbreak there.
The outbreak, which started along the northern border of the state in Spartanburg County in October, has now spread to a total of 310 people, a vast majority of whom are children. The outbreak has also caused major disruptions: 200 people who were exposed to the highly contagious virus are in quarantine for 21 days.
This week, health officials sent a statewide alert to health providers about the “importance of heightened awareness” of the virus and encouraged employers to allow employees time to quarantine if they’ve been exposed.
Four measles cases have also been reported in North Carolina, all of which were among people who had recently visited Spartanburg County. North Carolina health officials said the virus had not spread to any other North Carolinians as far as they knew.
While South Carolina has had some moderate success in increasing the number of measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations since the outbreak began, there are still large pockets of unvaccinated people in the community, Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina’s state epidemiologist, said at a news conference on Wednesday. Of those with known vaccination status, only two people who fell ill with measles were fully vaccinated, according to state data.
“We still have a ways to go with hundreds of people who are still lacking immunity,” she said.
In the 2024-25 school year, about 90 percent of students in Spartanburg County had all of the required childhood immunizations, including the M.M.R. shot. That’s slightly below the national average and below the 95 percent that experts say is required to stem the spread of the virus in a community.
Many schools in the area have vaccination rates that are well below 90 percent, according to state data.
This reported surge comes on the heels of the worst year for measles infections in the United States in recent history. Officials reported more than 2,100 cases in 2025, the highest number since 1991. The rise in cases in South Carolina has heightened fears that 2026 may follow the same trajectory. Another large measles outbreak along the Utah-Arizona border is still ongoing, as health officials have reported dozens of new cases in the last three weeks.
“2025 was the year of measles,” said Noel Brewer, who heads the National Sustainability Committee for the Elimination of Measles, Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome.
“Is 2026 the year that they go away, or the year that gets worse? That’s the big question.”
Teddy Rosenbluth is a Times reporter covering health news, with a special focus on medical misinformation.
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