Greenville, SC – Three additional cases of measles have been confirmed in South Carolina’s Upstate region, bringingโ the total number of cases linked to the current outbreak โtoโ 15, health officials announced today.
The newlyโ reported cases all involve individuals who โwere already quarantining as close contacts of previously confirmed cases. Importantly, โnone of the individuals were contagious while present in any school setting, and officialsโ state no further exposures are believed to have โขoccurred โคdue to thier pre-emptiveโ isolation. โThis outbreak underscores the importance of vaccination and proactive public healthโค measures to contain the highly โคcontagious virus.
Measlesโ is a highly contagious airborne disease thatโ can cause severe healthโ complications, especially โคin โฃyoung โchildrenโข and โindividuals with weakened immune systems. While the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine provides lifelong โฃimmunity after two doses, the virus can remainโข infectious in the air for up โto two hours after an infected person has left โaโ room, making it exceptionally โeasy to spread.
In response to โฃthe growing outbreak, Prisma Health has implemented enhanced masking protocols across all its โฃemergency departments. Allโฃ individuals entering โthe Emergency Department are now required to โขwear a mask until evaluated at triage. Patients presenting with โfever,rash,or respiratory symptoms,as well as unvaccinated parentsโฃ accompanying children with these symptoms,will be asked to continue masking while inside any Prisma Health facility.
Dr. Anna Cathryn burch, a pediatric infectious โคdisease physician, emphasized the โeffectiveness of the MMR vaccine. “Ifโ you haveโ had โฃtwo dosesโฃ of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, then you have lifelong immunity,” she stated. โฃIt typicallyโ takes approximately two weeks after vaccination for the body to develop antibodies against the measles virus. โข
For more information on the โฃoutbreak, โคsee previous coverage here: https://www.wyff4.com/article/south-carolina-measles-outbreak-2025-crunch-fitness/69032262.
