The South Carolina Department of Health reported 124 new cases of measles in the state from January 13 through 16, pushing the state’s total to 558.
The cases are centered around an outbreak in and around Spartanburg County. Currently, 531 people are in quarantine and 85 are in isolation. Some quarantines may be extended through February 16. 372 of the 558 cases are in children aged 5-17, and 483 of those cases are in unvaccinated people, while 56 of the patients have unknown vaccination status.
CIDRAP reported that the outbreak “began in October and has involved exposures at several schools and churches. Spartanburg County is home to several charter schools with a significant number of students with religious exemptions from routine vaccinations. In South Carolina, religious exemption from vaccination requires a notarized form but not a doctor’s note. One of the schools involved in the initial weeks of the outbreak…had only a 17% vaccination rate during the 2024-25 school year.”
Meanwhile, Utah’s case total was up to 201 as of Jan. 14. Arizona has also seen 217 infections as part of an ongoing outbreak on the border with Utah.
