Measles cases in South Carolina have surpassed the 2025 West Texas outbreak, reaching nearly 800 cases as the United States is on the verge of losing its status of having eliminated the disease, state health officials announced Jan. 27.
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported that 89 new measles cases have been confirmed since Jan. 23, bringing the total to 789. The number has overtaken the West Texas outbreak in 2025, which reached 762 cases and killed two children before ending in August.
The outbreak in South Carolina, which began in October 2025, has been centered in the northwest, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg counties, according to state health officials. It marks the biggest state‑level outbreak this year.
Of the 789 cases, 557 people are currently in quarantine, and 20 are in isolation, the state health department said. The latest end of quarantine for these cases is Feb. 19.
State data showed that of those infected, 695 were unvaccinated, 14 were partially vaccinated with one of the recommended two-dose measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines, 20 were fully vaccinated, and 60 had unknown vaccination status.
Health officials have warned that the growing outbreak could continue for weeks or months amid lagging vaccine uptake. Outbreaks of the highly contagious virus in the United States have jeopardized the nation’s status as a measles-free country. The disease was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000.
US measles cases reach new high
As of Jan. 22, 416 confirmed measles cases were reported in the United States this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. There have been no new outbreaks reported in 2026, and 94% of confirmed cases are associated with outbreaks that started in 2025.
In 2025, a total of 2,255 confirmed measles cases were reported across the United States, according to the CDC. Among those cases, 2,230 cases were recorded in 44 states, while a total of 25 cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
The last large outbreak occurred in 2019, when 1,274 cases were confirmed across the country. By July 2025, measles cases topped that number with 1,288 cases confirmed.
The CDC noted that there were 49 outbreaks reported in 2025, with 89% of confirmed cases — 2,006 cases — being outbreak-associated. Outbreaks are defined as three or more related cases.
Of the 2,255 cases, 26% occurred in patients under 5, while 44% were reported in those ages 5 to 19, according to the CDC. The agency also reported that 243 patients were hospitalized last year, including 106 patients under 5 years of age.
The CDC said 93% of the country’s measles cases in 2025 were in patients who either had not been vaccinated or had an unknown status. There have been three confirmed deaths, including two children, in West Texas.
Health officials are also still responding to an outbreak in parts of Utah and Arizona. Last year, West Texas was the epicenter of measles cases in the United States, with more than 760 cases confirmed by August.
On Aug. 18, the Texas Department of State Health Services declared that the outbreak in West Texas had ended, saying it had been more than 42 days, or two incubation periods, since a new case was reported in counties that previously showed evidence of ongoing transmission.
Nation’s measles-free status at risk: How doctors are handling it.
Best protection against measles
Measles is highly contagious and can spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes, the CDC said. People can also be infected by breathing contaminated air, where it remains infectious for up to two hours, or by touching their mouth, eyes, or nose after contact with a contaminated surface.
Measles symptoms typically appear seven to 14 days after contact with the virus and commonly include high fever, cough, runny nose, and watery eyes, according to the CDC. A measles rash appears three to five days after the onset of the first symptoms.
Complications from measles include ear infections, hearing loss, pneumonia, croup, diarrhea, blindness, and swelling of the brain, the CDC said. Even in healthy children, measles can cause serious illness and death.
In unvaccinated pregnant women, measles may cause premature birth or a low-birthweight baby.
The CDC estimates that about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the United States who get measles will need hospitalization. Health experts have underscored that the best protection against the disease is the vaccine, either given alone or as part of an MMR shot or a measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine provide 97% protection against the virus, according to the CDC. Children typically receive the first vaccine when they are 12 to 15 months old and again at 4 to 6 years.
Adults born before 1957 are presumed to have acquired immunity as they most likely had measles during childhood, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
Contributing: Adrianna Rodriguez, Ken Alltucker, and Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina measles outbreak reaches 789 cases, officials say
