South Carolina measles cases rise to 646, Clemson exposure widens outbreak risk

By Mariam Sunny, Siddhi Mahatole and Julie Steenhuysen

Jan 20 (Reuters) – South Carolina’s health department on Tuesday reported 646 measles cases tied to the state’s ongoing outbreak, an increase of 88 since Friday, with new public exposures at Clemson and Anderson universities raising the risk of a wider spread.

The outbreak, which began in October, is centered in the northwest part of the state, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg.

At least 538 people are in quarantine after being exposed to the virus, and another 33 people who are symptomatic are in isolation to keep them from spreading the disease.

The Department of Health and Human Services is providing $1.4 million in financial assistance to South Carolina at the request of the state to help curb the spread of measles, an HHS spokesperson told Reuters.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to investigate transmission patterns and is working with South Carolina health officials, including through regular coordination meetings, the spokesperson said, adding “CDC stands ready to provide technical assistance, laboratory support, vaccines and therapeutics upon request.”

A total of 34 students at Clemson University and 50 students at Anderson University have been quarantined, the state health department said.

Of those infected, 563 were unvaccinated, 12 were partially vaccinated with one of the recommended two-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccines, 13 were fully vaccinated, while the vaccination status of 58 remained unknown.

“These numbers, 88 new cases in South Carolina just since Friday, indicates that this outbreak is far from over and still spreading,” said William Moss, an epidemiology professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

He said quarantine and isolation are challenging tools with a highly contagious disease like measles because people are infectious before they develop symptoms.

“The more cases we have, the more cases we’re likely to have, as long as we have these pockets of susceptible individuals,” he said.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny, Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Alan Barona)