South Carolina's measles outbreak is over after sickening nearly 1,000 people
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Key Points:
- South Carolina's measles outbreak, the worst in the U.S. in over 35 years, has officially ended after 42 days with no new cases, with 997 people infected and at least 21 hospitalized since October.
- The outbreak was mainly confined to northwestern Spartanburg County and was controlled through timely investigations, quarantines, and increased vaccination efforts, including a 94% rise in vaccinations in Spartanburg County.
- The state spent an estimated $2.1 million responding to the outbreak, which was the fastest-growing in the U.S. in decades, surpassing a 2025 outbreak in West Texas.
- Despite the end of this outbreak, measles continues to spread nationwide with 1,792 cases reported so far this year, including significant outbreaks in Utah and Arizona, raising ongoing public health concerns.
- Declining childhood vaccination rates in the U.S. have contributed to the resurgence of measles, and international health officials will soon decide if the U.S. has lost its measles elimination status maintained since 2000.
