South Carolina confirms 124 new measles cases as outbreak on the Arizona-Utah line grows
South Carolina health officials confirmed 124 new cases of measles since Friday, as the outbreak in the northwest part of the state grew after the holidays.
There is a second, separate measles outbreak along the Arizona-Utah border, where 418 people have been infected since August.
Last year was the worst year for measles spread in the country since 1991, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United States has confirmed 2,144 cases in 44 states. Three people died, all unvaccinated.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that is transmitted through the air and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes, or coughs. It is preventable thanks to vaccines and has been considered eliminated in the United States since 2000, although the country risks losing this achievement.
Measles first infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body, causing high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes, and rash. Most children will recover, but infection can cause dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more linked cases.
South Carolina recorded 434 cases Tuesday in an outbreak centered in Spartanburg County.
The outbreak has grown rapidly over the past month to become one of the worst in the country. Hundreds of children have been quarantined due to exposures at school, some more than once. A person with measles also exposed people at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia on Friday.
The number of cases could soon rival last year’s in Texas, where 762 cases were reported and two children died. Experts believe this is likely an underestimate.
The outbreak in the border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona — an area nicknamed Short Creek — continues to grow.
Arizona health officials added nine new cases Tuesday, for a total of 217 in Mohave County. Utah officials added two cases Tuesday for a total of 201.
Experts in both states have expressed concern about the undercount.
“We saw our cases slow down and then pick up again after the holidays,” said Nicole Witt, with the Arizona Department of Health Services. “We hope to see an end to this outbreak soon, but, right now, we continue to see the same number of cases week after week.”
The best way to avoid measles is to get vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella. The first injection is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years.
After two doses, the vaccine is 97% effective against measles and its protection is considered lifelong.
Measles has a harder time spreading in communities with high vaccination rates – above 95% – due to “herd immunity.” But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are seeking religious or personal exemptions to exempt their children from mandatory shots.
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