South Carolina Measles Cases Rise Further to 646

South Carolina officials confirmed 212 new measles cases over the past week. CIDRAP has the news.

Just yesterday, HPN published an article about the measles outbreak in South Carolina, putting the case total at 558. The official total rose all the way to 646 with the newest report.

There are “538 people in quarantine and 33 in isolation,” and six schools have had recent exposures resulting in new quarantines. 563 of the patients are unvaccinated and 58 have unknown vaccination status. 155 of the patients are under 5 years old and 419 are between the ages of 5 and 17. This outbreak is likely to surpass last year’s West Texas outbreak in case number; that one was responsible for 762 cases.

New cases in Washington state have also now been tied to the South Carolina outbreak. They also represent the first cases in the state since 2023. A university student elsewhere in the state also has been confirmed to have the disease.

Also, the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO’s) Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission for Measles, Rubella, and Congenital Rubella Syndrome invited the U.S. to a virtual meeting in April to discuss its measles elimination status. The status could be lost if “the commission finds uninterrupted measles transmission chains lasting for more than 12 months.”