Measles cases in South Carolina rise by 6 to 979

Feb 24 (Reuters) – Measles cases in South Carolina surged to 979 on Tuesday, state health data showed, including six additional infections since Friday.

Here are some details:

* Officials have warned that the widening outbreak could last weeks or months amid lagging vaccine uptake.

* At least 91 people are in quarantine after being exposed to the virus, and one person in isolation to keep them from spreading the disease

* Of those infected, 913 were unvaccinated, 19 were partially vaccinated with one of the recommended two-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccines, 26 were fully vaccinated and 21 had unknown vaccination status

* The outbreak, which began in October, has been centered in the northwest part of the state, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health

** South Carolina has sought help of a dozen infectious‑disease specialists from the CDC Foundation to help manage the nation’s largest measles outbreak in over 30 years amid declining local vaccination rates, Reuters reported on Tuesday

* Most cases were reported in children in the 5-to-17 age group followed by those below five years of age

* As of February 19, 982 confirmed measles cases were reported in the U.S. in 2026, according to CDC’s latest data

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)