South Carolina has recorded nearly 800 measles cases in its ongoing outbreak, according to state data, surpassing the number of cases linked to a 2025 Texas outbreak.
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported the outbreak, which began in October, has grown to 789 cases, an increase of 89 since Friday. Most of the illnesses are in Spartanburg County, in the northwestern part of the state. The department said 18 people, including children, have been hospitalized.
A West Texas outbreak beginning in January 2025 sickened 762 people, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Two young children died and 99 people were hospitalized, according to state data. State officials declared the end of the outbreak in August 2025.
Most of the affected patients in South Carolina are not vaccinated, the department said. Only 20 of the 789 people sickened with measles received the full two-dose vaccine. Over 690 people were not vaccinated at all, and 14 had received only the first dose of the series. Another 60 patients’ vaccination status was not known, the department said.
Over 88% of the cases in South Carolina are in children under the age of 17. Twenty area schools had students in quarantine. An additional three schools have reported exposures but have not yet determined how many students need to be quarantined. Other public exposure sites include stores and a state museum, the department said.
Most of the West Texas cases were children as well, according to state data. The majority of patients in that outbreak were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status.
The United States in 2025 saw the most measles cases in decades. Overall, the nation recorded more than 2,200 measles cases, including those in Texas and the start of the South Carolina outbreak.
As of Friday, the United States has recorded over 400 measles cases in 2026, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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