South Carolina is currently experiencing a sharp surge in measles outbreak, with 558 cases reported as of Friday, including 124 other people also contracted the virus over three days.
The epicenter is Spartanburg County, where the number of students with nonmedical vaccine exemptions has seen a major spike since the pandemic, leaving communities vulnerable to outbreaks.
An infectious disease specialist at Prisma Health Dr. Helmut Albrecht issued a warning, “We have the largest outbreak in the U.S., and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
Hundreds of residents are already in isolation, and infection has spread beyond the state, with six cases in North Carolina and three in Washington associated with Spartanburg.
The vaccination rate in Spartanburg County stands at 90%, below the 95% threshold required to prevent measles.
As per the research published in JAMA, some schools have pockets of reduced coverage, with one reporting only a 20% vaccination rate. Nonmedical exemptions now account for nearly 8% of students, up from 3% in 2020.
Most measles cases affect unvaccinated children and teens. While the disease is typically mild, it can be life-threatening and compromise immune memory.
Health professionals urged unvaccinated people to receive the measles shots, aiming to prevent the rapidly spreading virus, underscoring that small pockets of low immunity can ignite outbreaks.
Experts warned that increasing exemption rates nationwide create conditions for similar outbreaks elsewhere.
Director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Michael Osterholm stated, “There are a lot more South Carolinas waiting to happen.”
