More than 250 people who were exposed to measles, including dozens of school-aged children, are quarantining in South Carolina as the state wrestles to contain an outbreak that has sickened more than 110 people.
The outbreak comes during what has already been one of the worst years for the virus since it was declared eliminated in the United States more than two decades ago.
Cases have been centered in Spartanburg County, along the northern border of the state, and the virus appears to be widely spreading through the community: People have been exposed at a church, a health care building and several schools.
The outbreak, which started in October, shows no signs of slowing, likely because of the county’s “lower-than-hoped-for vaccination coverage,” Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina’s state epidemiologist, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
In the 2024-25 school year, about 90 percent of students in Spartanburg County had all of the required childhood immunizations, including the measles, mumps and rubella shot. That’s slightly below the national average and below the 95 percent target that experts consider necessary to stem the spread of measles.
Many of the schools with students in quarantine have vaccination rates that dip well below 90 percent, according to state data.
Health officials emphasized that the virus can cause major disruptions even for those who don’t get sick. In South Carolina, some unvaccinated students were exposed to the virus on two separate occasions, leading them to quarantine twice, for 21 days each.
“That’s a significant amount of time,” Dr. Bell said. “Vaccination continues to be the best way to prevent the disruption that measles is causing to people’s education, to employment.”
State officials have ramped up M.M.R. vaccination efforts, though it’s unclear whether they have made a meaningful impact. There has been “limited uptake in the affected community,” said Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services. He added that vaccination was “the best way to protect against measles” and encouraged people to talk with a doctor about “what is best for them.”
It appears to be the third major measles outbreak in the country this year. The first started along the western edge of Texas in January and spread to neighboring Oklahoma and New Mexico, ultimately becoming the single largest outbreak of measles in decades.
In August, another multistate outbreak erupted at the Utah-Arizona border, where health officials have reported dozens of new cases in the states in the last three weeks.
Nationally, more than 1,900 measles cases have been reported so far this year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three unvaccinated people, including two children, have died.
Canada has also grappled with large, deadly measles outbreaks this year, leading it to lose its elimination status officially last month.
While measles symptoms typically resolve in a few weeks, the virus can cause pneumonia, making it difficult for patients, especially children, to breathe. It may also lead to brain swelling, which can cause lasting damage, including blindness, deafness and intellectual disabilities.
For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die, according to the C.D.C.
Teddy Rosenbluth is a Times reporter covering health news, with a special focus on medical misinformation.
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