The outbreak, which began in early October, has been concentrated in Spartanburg County near the North Carolina border.

At least 124 new measles cases have been reported in South Carolina since last Friday, health officials said, bringing the total in the ongoing outbreak to 434. More than 400 people are currently in quarantine.

The outbreak, which began in early October, has been concentrated in Spartanburg County near the North Carolina border.

In recent days, Georgia, Oregon, and Virginia each reported their first measles cases of 2026.

The U.S. is experiencing its highest number of measles cases since 1992. In 2025, the country recorded 2,144 cases across 44 states, with nearly 50 outbreaks nationwide up from 16 in 2024 and just four in 2023, according to CDC data. About 90% of cases were linked to outbreaks.

Three deaths were reported in 2025, including two unvaccinated school-aged children in Texas and one unvaccinated adult in New Mexico, marking the first U.S. measles deaths in a decade.

The CDC recommends two doses of the MMR vaccine: the first at 12–15 months and the second at 4–6 years. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles.

In 2025, 93% of cases occurred among those unvaccinated or with unknown vaccination status, 3% among those with one dose, and 4% among those who had received the full two-dose regimen.

Vaccination rates have been declining in recent years.

During the 2024–2025 school year, 92.5% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, down slightly from 92.7% the previous year and below the 95.2% coverage seen in 2019–2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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