A measles outbreak that began in Texas a year ago has now infected 664 people in South Carolina alone, with cases doubling in recent weeks. The highly contagious virus has spread to North Carolina, Ohio, Washington state, Arizona, and Utah, threatening the US's measles-elimination status.
Most of those infected are unvaccinated children, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last year, 2,242 cases were reported across 44 states, and 171 cases have already been recorded in nine states in 2026, before the latest South Carolina surge.
Public health officials warn that falling vaccination rates and rising exemptions from school mandates are driving the resurgence. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the US health secretary and a known vaccine critic, has promoted unproven treatments and framed vaccination as a personal choice, undermining public health efforts.
“Measles is the canary in the coalmine,” said Katherine Wells, director of public health in Lubbock, Texas. “As we see lower vaccination rates, we could see outbreaks of rubella, polio, or other vaccine-preventable diseases.” Experts note that measles can linger in the air for two hours, making it spread faster than other infections.
In South Carolina, 531 people are in quarantine and eight have been hospitalised. “We feel like we’re staring over the edge, knowing this is about to get worse,” said Dr Johnathon Elkes, an emergency medicine physician at Prisma Health. Infectious disease specialist Dr Helmut Albrecht urged vaccination, saying, “This is going to get worse before it gets better.”
