Hundreds are quarantined in South Carolina as measles spreads in 2 US outbreaks

Measles outbreaks are increasing along the Utah-Arizona border and in South Carolina, where hundreds of people are in quarantine.

Between Friday and Tuesday, South Carolina health officials confirmed 27 new cases of measles during an outbreak in and around northwest Spartanburg County. In two months, 111 people were infected with this vaccine-preventable virus.

More than 250 people, including students from nine elementary, middle and high schools in the region, are in quarantine – some for the second time since the outbreak began in October. Most of the new cases in the state came from exposures at the Way of Truth Church in Inman. Church leaders have been “very helpful,” said Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist.

“We are facing continued transmission that we hope will last for several more weeks, at least in our state,” Bell said.

In Arizona and Utah, the epidemic has worsened since August. Mohave County, Arizona, recorded 172 cases and the Southwestern Utah Department of Public Health recorded 82 cases. The border towns of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, are hardest hit.

In total, Utah has confirmed 115 cases of measles this year. Arizona has confirmed 176.

Nationally, the number of measles cases is approaching 2,000 for a disease considered eliminated in the United States since 2000, thanks to routine childhood vaccinations.

Last month, Canada lost that designation — which applies when there is no ongoing local spread of the virus — as did the largest health region in the Americas.

Experts believe that the United States also risks losing this status. For this to happen, measles would have to spread continuously for a year. A large outbreak in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma that began in January sickened nearly 900 people and marked the start of the worst measles year in the United States in more than three decades.

All but eight states have recorded at least one case of measles this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has confirmed 47 outbreaks this year, up from 16 in 2024. Three people – including two Texas schoolchildren – have died.

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is safe and provides 97% protection against the disease after two doses. In the United States, most children must be vaccinated in order to attend school. But vaccination rates have declined as more parents forgo vaccines or fall behind recommended vaccination schedules.

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