Measles cases in in 2025, the United States reached its highest level in more than 30 years, with 2,242 confirmed infections. A particularly stern outbreak in West Texas that began last January was a significant factor in these cases. Currently, the rise in measles cases in South Carolina is on track to overtake the outbreak in West Texas, which could mean another year of high measles case numbers.
“I’m concerned,” says Susan Kline, an infectious diseases physician and professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota. “Given the scale of the current outbreak taking place in South Carolina, I don’t think this bodes well for this year.”
Across the country, vaccination rates continue to enhance in states has been decreasing in recent years. Combined with the Trump administration’s hostility to vaccines, the U.S. is likely to see more measles outbreaks in the coming months and years.
The outbreak in South Carolina began last fall, according to the state health department the first eight cases of measles occurred on October 2. An outbreak is defined as three or more cases linked to a common exposure. This number has increased to By the end of the year 176. The state confirmed the status as of January 20 646 cases— most of them in the “upstate” region, in the northwest corner of the state.
A measles outbreak in West Texas resulted in 762 confirmed cases, 99 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths among school-age children who were not vaccinated. The outbreak was officially declared over in August, seven months after it began.
“We feel like we’re really looking over the edge, knowing that things are about to get worse,” Johnathon Elkes, an emergency medicine physician at Prisma Health in Greenville, South Carolina, said on a Jan. 16 call with reporters.
Measles is highly contagious and the virus can linger in the air for hours after a sneeze or cough. Initial symptoms usually include high fever, cough and runny nose. The characteristic spotty rash appears only after a few days. Although most people recover from measles, the disease can be perilous, especially for infants and teenage children. The virus can damage the lungs and severely weaken the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to pneumonia and other infections for weeks or months. Pneumonia is the most common cause of measles-related deaths in children.
So far, 10 people have required hospitalization in South Carolina since the outbreak began. This applies to both adults and children. Cases were identified on two university campuses, Clemson University and Anderson University, and at a number of public exposure sites continues to grow up to a week. In addition to the 646 confirmed cases, another 538 people in the state were potentially exposed to measles and were asked to self-quarantine at home while waiting for symptoms to develop.
Right now, the state is seeing a double-digit number of recent cases daily, South Carolina State Epidemiologist Linda Bell said during a Jan. 21 briefing.
“We could certainly be in this for several more weeks and potentially months if we don’t see a change in protective behavior,” she said.
There is no antiviral drug used to treat measles. The best protection against this disease is vaccination with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Of South Carolina’s 646 cases, 563 are unvaccinated, 12 have received one of two doses of the MMR vaccine, 13 have been vaccinated and the vaccination status of 58 is unknown. The vaccine may not provide adequate protection in people with weakened immune systems.