Dec 19 (Reuters) – The South Carolina health department on Friday reported 144 measles cases related to the ongoing outbreak in the northwest part of the state, nine additional cases since its last update on Tuesday.
The widening outbreak has been reported in Upstate South Carolina, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
There are currently 224 people in quarantine and four in isolation to curb the spread of the disease.
Four of the new cases were from known household exposures, one was from known exposure at the Way of Truth Church in Inman, and one resulted from a previously reported school exposure. The source of exposure is unknown for three of the cases, the state health department said.
Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that causes symptoms such as fever, cough and a characteristic rash. It can also lead to severe complications like pneumonia and encephalitis.
It is preventable when communities attain a 95% vaccination coverage rate, the level needed to achieve herd immunity and protect those who are unable to receive the vaccine.
Of those infected in the current break, 137 were unvaccinated, three were partially vaccinated with one of the recommended two-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccines, one person was fully vaccinated and three had unknown vaccination status.
As of December 16, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 49 measles outbreaks and a total of 1,958 confirmed cases in the U.S. this year, compared with 16 outbreaks reported in 2024.
The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more related cases.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny and Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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