WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A fast-growing measles outbreak in South Carolina, now the largest in recent U.S. history, has broken the record in the contagious disease reported in Texas last year.
South Carolina's Department of Public Health announced that the number of confirmed cases has reached 789, eclipsing the record of 762 people falling ill in the 2025 Texas outbreak.
89 of the new infections were reported in the last five days. The northwest Spartanburg County was the worst-affected part of the state.
Most of them are in quarantine and 18 have been hospitalized, reports quoting state health officials said.
Majority of the infected patients were children under 17, and reportedly unvaccinated.
The virus is taking a heavy toll nationwide since 2025, and has not slowed in the new year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.
According to CDC, as of January 29, 588 confirmed measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026 across 17 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. A total of 3 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
Most of the measles cases were reported in South Carolina, Utah and Arizona.
There have been two new outbreaks reported in 2026, and 94 percent of confirmed cases are linked to outbreaks that started in 2025.
Measles was officially eliminated from the United States in 2000, meaning there is no measles spreading within the country and new cases are only found when someone contracts measles abroad and returns to the country, according to the CDC.
Measles is an extremely infectious, and potentially severe rash illness. Before the measles vaccine was introduced, an estimated 48,000 people were hospitalized and 400-500 people died in the United States each year.
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