There is Something Different About the South Carolina Measles Outbreak

And some things that are the same as every other measles outbreak.

Unfortunately, most folks are getting used to see measles outbreaks these days.

Still, you probably haven’t noticed what’s different about the measles outbreak in South Carolina yet, have you?

There is Something Different About the South Carolina Measles Outbreak

What’s so different?

“That’s correct. That in some schools there are um the the number of children who have met the school entry requirements is as low as 20%.”

South Carolina state epidemiologist Linda Bell

Extremely low immunization rates?

That’s not much different than we saw in the Texas outbreak or other big outbreaks.

That those caught up in the South Carolina measles outbreak are almost all unvaccinated?

We see that in every outbreak!

Let’s take a look at who is getting measles though…

Now that’s a little different!

The great majority of measles cases are in school age children in the South Carolina outbreak. That’s in contrast to the typical outbreak, where more infants and toddlers are usually affected.

What else is different?

Previous “big” outbreaks have occurred in areas with relatively small populations or in closed communities.

In the Texas outbreak, for example, most of the cases were in Gaines County, with a population of just over 21,000 people.

Spartanburg County, South Carolina, in contrast, has nearly 400,000 people!

And their outbreak has spread beyond any kind of closed community, which is easy to see when you consider that at least 440 kids have been quarantined in at least 24 different schools.

What else?

The ongoing South Carolina measles outbreak, at 962 cases, has already beaten the Texas outbreak and earns the record for being the largest outbreak since the endemic spread of measles was eliminated in 2000.

What’s not so different these days?

We are seeing life-threatening complications in the children getting measles in South Carolina, just like we did in Texas, where two children died.

A 7-year-old in South Carolina has measles encephalitis.

And cuts to public health are making it harder to prevent and control these kinds of outbreaks.

“While the number of measles cases grew in December, the number of DPH staff assigned to combat the outbreak dropped. The internal DPH reports repeatedly note concerns about holiday staffing, workloads, burnout, the availability of backup staffing, and “limited support due to workforce reduction in April 2025.”"

Measles cases surged after holiday school closures delayed outbreak investigations

We are seeing that in South Carolina, just as we saw it in Texas.

Will we see more folks get vaccinated and protected to help stop the outbreak?

“If you want to stop measles, you should get vaccinated.”

I’m a South Carolina Pediatrician.

That would be a nice change…

More on the South Carolina Measles Outbreak

• When Measles Epidemics Would Close Schools

• South Carolina schools face measles risk as vaccination rates drop to 20%, state epidemiologist warns

• SCDPH - 2025 Measles Outbreak Current Situation

• How the South Carolina measles outbreak grew from 5 to 962 cases

• Measles cases surged after holiday school closures delayed outbreak investigations

• South Carolina’s Measles Outbreak Shows Chilling Effect of Vaccine Misinformation

• I’m a South Carolina Pediatrician.

• Why is South Carolina’s measles outbreak spreading so quickly?

• Family choices, community dynamics and Spartanburg’s measles outbreak

• Five new measles cases were traced to Inman Slavic language church

• SC measles outbreak in Upstate continues with church involved in spread