The measles outbreak in South Carolina — the worst recorded in the United States in more than 35 years — has come to an end, state health authorities declared this Monday.
On Sunday, the state surpassed the threshold of 42 days without new cases related to the outbreak. Ultimately, 997 people contracted the vaccine-preventable disease since October and at least 21 of them were hospitalized, according to voluntary reports submitted to the state.
State health officials estimate the response to the outbreak cost $2.1 million.
“The outbreak was primarily limited to one area of one county and never spread statewide, thanks to timely investigations, identification of exposed individuals and the public’s willingness to stay home,” said Dr. Edward Simmer, acting director of the South Carolina Department of Public Health.
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to medicine. Most people recover after developing a high fever, cough, runny nose, and a characteristic skin rash.
However, some people, including very young children and people with weak immune systems, can develop pneumonia, brain inflammation, or even die.
Measles can also cause health problems later in life for those who recover. The vaccine is safe and is 97% effective after two doses.
The outbreak encouraged some to get vaccinated
Centered in northwest Spartanburg County, the measles outbreak was the fastest-growing the United States has seen in decades, state health officials said.
Public health authorities confirmed more than 650 cases in January alone. The outbreak quickly surpassed that of 2025 in West Texas, which affected at least 762 people and caused the death of two school children.
But a decline in cases earlier than expected was good news for doctors and health workers.
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to medicine.
“Several factors may have contributed,” Dr. Brannon Traxler, medical director of the state health department, said last week. “To some extent, it’s possible that the outbreak subsided as more people got sick,” he said, “but it’s also true that more people got vaccinated.”
Although uptake was slow at first, public health workers, doctors’ offices and pharmacies administered nearly 82,000 measles vaccines between October and March.
(The United States records almost 1,000 cases of measles so far in 2026)
This represented an increase of more than 30% compared to the same period of the previous year. Spartanburg County saw a 94% increase in vaccinations.
The public health department also worked to contain the spread, sending nearly 2,300 quarantine letters, making more than 1,670 case investigation calls and collaborating with seven school districts to quarantine 874 students.
The United States is on track to surpass last year’s cases
Measles continues to spread throughout the country. So far this year, the United States has recorded 1,792 cases — nearly 80% of the record 2025 total — and 22 new outbreaks. Florida has confirmed 134 cases this year and Texas has 180, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Most concerning now is an outbreak that began on the Arizona-Utah border and has since spread across much of Utah. Since August, 607 people have gotten sick in Utah. Mohave County, Arizona, has also confirmed 282 cases.
Genetic analyzes indicate that the outbreak could have started six weeks earlier and it could have been much higher than has been reported, according to research presented at a CDC conference last week.
Cases have slowed somewhat, but it’s still too early to say the end is in sight, said Dr. Ellie Brownstein, a Utah pediatrician and president-elect of the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
State data shows southwestern Utah continues to have the highest number of cases — 258 — but each of the state’s 13 local health districts has recorded at least one case.
“It’s spread across the state and it’s everywhere,” Brownstein said.
South Carolina authorities remain on alert
In South Carolina, the end of the outbreak has given health care workers only a brief respite. Last week, a case related to international travel in Saluda County, west of Columbia, caused 41 people to be quarantined.
“Of course, No let’s let our guard downand I don’t think South Carolinians who remain vulnerable to the virus, who have no immunity, should let their guard down,” Traxler said.
The virus has re-emerged across the Americas since a major outbreak began in Canada in the fall of 2024. In the United States, childhood measles vaccination rates have been declining for years as more parents opt out of required school vaccinations.
In November, international health authorities will determine whether the United States has lost its measles-elimination status, which it has held since 2000.
Dr. Martha Edwards, president of the South Carolina chapter of the AAP, said the end of the outbreak made her feel a mixture of gratitude and anger.
“It makes me angry that so many children and their parents have had to worry about contracting or suffering from a disease that should have been almost 100% preventable“he stated.
