South Carolina is currently experiencing a significant measles outbreak, totaling 876 confirmed cases—an alarming figure that marks the largest such event in the U.S. for decades. However, there are some encouraging developments amidst the crisis.
The outbreak began in October, rapidly surpassing another significant incident in Texas. Fortunately, the pace of new confirmed cases appears to be slowing down. Recently, health officials reported only 29 new cases—a noticeable decline from recent weeks. State epidemiologist Linda Bell mentioned that while it’s early to determine if the outbreak’s trajectory has genuinely changed, there is some optimism.
Bell noted that public health efforts to encourage vaccination seem to be paying off. Just a few weeks back, turnout at mobile vaccination clinics was low, but now there’s been an impressive 162 percent increase in vaccinations in Spartanburg County for January compared to last year. Statewide, the rise stands at 72 percent, a vital step toward curbing the virus’s spread.
“This month has seen the highest number of measles vaccinations during the outbreak,” Bell remarked. She expressed hope that this surge is linked to a growing awareness of the disease’s threat and an increasing desire for protection against its serious complications.
Complications can be severe, including issues like encephalitis and pneumonia. So far, at least 19 individuals—both children and adults—have been hospitalized due to the outbreak.
Dr. Robin LaCroix, a pediatric infectious disease specialist in Greenville, S.C., has treated several hospitalized children and remarked on how severe the illness can be: “It’s quite sobering to see how challenging this illness is for them,” she said. “They’re dehydrated, suffering from both fever and an incessant cough.”
LaCroix and her colleagues expect to see more complications in children as the outbreak continues into the coming months.
Interestingly, several unvaccinated pregnant women have been treated with immune globulin following exposure to measles. Bell warned that the disease poses significant risks to pregnant women and their unborn children, including higher chances of maternal death, preterm labor, and stillbirth.
There have also been isolated measles cases reported within two ICE detention facilities. A case was confirmed in a detention center in Florence, Arizona, earlier in January, and this past weekend, another two cases were confirmed in a family detention center in Dilley, Texas. According to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, both individuals are now quarantined, and federal officials have paused movement within the centers to contain further exposure.
However, there are concerns regarding the potential for outbreaks in these settings. Dr. Katherine Peeler from Harvard Medical School has studied healthcare in immigration detention and highlighted a past outbreak in 2016, where even with reasonably high immunity levels, measles spread quickly in a crowded environment.
“I worry we might see increased measles outbreaks, similar to the high rates of COVID we’ve seen,” she stated. With declining vaccination rates across the U.S. and an uptick in measles cases alongside rising detentions at ICE facilities, the risk of outbreaks is a growing concern.
