In early November, the state Department of Public Health opened a pop-up mobile vaccine clinic in a library parking lot in Boiling Springs, South Carolina. (Photo by Lauren Sausser/KFF Health News)
COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s measles outbreak is among the worst in the country as the number of cases in the Upstate continues to rise with no end in sight, health officials said Wednesday.
As of Tuesday, 211 people in the state were diagnosed with the highly contagious virus, according to the state health department. That’s more than any state but Texas, which reported more than 800 cases in 2025, according to the Texas health agency.
Four of the cases in South Carolina required hospital stays, said state epidemiologist Linda Bell. She did not disclose any more information on those people or their conditions, citing patient privacy concerns.
SC measles cases grow to 144, with more expected following holiday travel
South Carolina’s outbreak has begun to spread in neighboring states as well, with four North Carolina children who visited Spartanburg County testing positive for the disease, according to the neighboring health department.
“It is clear the virus is circulating in the community,” Bell told reporters Wednesday. “The question is who in the community, who is susceptible, will get infected.”
The only surefire way to stop the virus from spreading is vaccination, Bell said. Of the people infected during the ongoing outbreak, at least 93% were unvaccinated, according to the health department.
“The more people we get vaccinated, the faster we can slow the spread of the virus,” Bell said.
As of Wednesday, 144 people were in quarantine for exposure to the virus without previous immunity, such as vaccination or a previous infection.
That included nine students from two Spartanburg schools: Sugar Ridge Elementary and Boiling Springs Elementary.
Other cases came from exposures at Tabernacle of Salvation Church, Slavic Pentecostal Church of Spartanburg and Ark of Salvation Church. All three churches in Inman conduct services in the Russian language. Exposures also occurred at Unitarian Universalist Church in Spartanburg, according to the health department.
The health department has been working with leaders in the church and community to encourage people to get vaccinated while remaining respectful of cultural barriers, said Bell, who added they’re working with interpreters.
Officials aren’t expecting the rise in cases to stop anytime soon, Bell said. At least some of the people in quarantine, as well as their household members, are likely to develop symptoms of the highly contagious disease, she said.
Measles symptoms, which include a fever and rash, generally start between one and three weeks after infection.
Although the health department encourages people exposed to the virus to stay home and limit interactions with others, some who are unaware of their exposure may continue going in public, potentially passing the disease along, Bell said. Enclosed spaces with a lot of people interacting, such as churches and schools, can become hotbeds for the virus.
Until enough people are vaccinated to stop the virus’ spread, “this could go on for many, many more weeks,” Bell said.
The U.S. could lose its measles-free status this month, a designation meaning the virus is not freely circulating the country year-round. The country was first declared measles-free in 2000, 32 years after the vaccine became available.
Most people receive two doses of the measles vaccine, which also covers mumps and rubella, during childhood. Unvaccinated adults can still get both doses, which protects from the disease in about 97% of cases.
Getting a shot within 72 hours of exposure to the virus can help prevent illness, and anyone who does so can skip the 21-day quarantine, Bell said. Few people have taken that option, she added, without providing numbers.
South Carolina is also a hotspot for flu cases, according to the CDC.
As of Saturday, the most recent data available, 15,589 people tested positive for influenza since the flu season began in September, according to the Department of Public Health.
That’s more than double the number of cases reported last year, though it still falls far below the 45,000 influenza cases reported during the 2023-2024 season, according to the health agency’s data.
This season, 26 people have died from the flu. All but one were at least 50 years old. One was a child from the Upstate, though the health department did not release any more information about the child’s age or location.
“To prevent complications and deaths, it’s critical that everyone in South Carolina get their flu shots as well as updated vaccines for respiratory illnesses, including COVID and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV,” Bell said in a statement.
