Hundreds of U.S. Students Quarantined as Measles Cases Rise
Breaking: Measles outbreaks in South Carolina and Minnesota have led to the quarantine of over 270 students, highlighting growing concerns about declining vaccination rates and the resurgence of the highly contagious virus.
In South Carolina,a recent diagnosis in greenville County,unconnected to seven previous cases in Spartanburg County,confirms active measles transmission within the community,according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health. This brings the total number of students sidelined to 153,all unvaccinated,and requiring a minimum 21-day quarantine period. The cases have been identified in two schools – one elementary and one charter school serving kindergarten through 12th grade.
“What this new case tells us is that there is active, unrecognized community transmission of measles occurring,” stated Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist for the South Carolina Department of Public Health, during a Thursday press briefing.She added that excluding exposed,unvaccinated children from school for three weeks will “help us be effective in preventing the spread of measles virus in those schools and in our communities.”
A similar situation is unfolding in Minnesota, where 118 students in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area are under quarantine due to exposure to the virus, health officials announced Friday.
These quarantines necessitate at least three weeks of remote learning for affected students as parents monitor for symptoms including fever and rash. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, warned, “Communities are having to bear the price of quarantining so many children. Expect more of the same. This is going to happen more and more frequently.”
Data from NBC News reveals that vaccination rates in the affected areas fall below the 95% threshold recommended by doctors for outbreak prevention. The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination rate for K-12 students in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, is 90% for the 2024-25 school year, while Greenville County’s rate is 90.5%.
