South Carolina on Tuesday has reported the nation’s largest measles outbreak in decades, which mostly is occurring among unvaccinated children and youth. File Photo by Annie Rice/EPA-EFE
Jan. 27 (UPI) — A rapidly growing measles outbreak in South Carolina is the nation’s worst since measles was declared eradicated in 2000, with 789 reported cases.
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported 89 new measles cases since Friday, raising the state’s total to 789, the most in one state in decades, WOLO-TV reported.
The state’s Public Health Department reported 756 cases in Spartanburg County in northwestern South Carolina, followed by 28 in Greenville County, which is adjacent to and west of Spartanburg.
Fewer than five cases were reported in Anderson County, which is directly southwest of Greenville County, and Cherokee County, which is directly east of Spartanburg.
The outbreak began in October, and most of the state’s measles cases — 692 — were among those who are not vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, and another 63 have an unknown vaccination status, for a total of 755 cases and 96% of those reported.
Another 20 cases occurred among those who are fully vaccinated, and 14 are among those who are partially vaccinated. At least 18 have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
When broken down by age, young children between ages 5 and 11 accounted for 345 cases, followed by 201 among those ages 0 to 4.
Another 149 cases were reported among youth between ages 12 and 17, followed by 26 among those between ages 18 and 29, and 25 cases among those between ages 30 and 49.
Five cases have been reported among people ages 50 and over, while 28 cases are among those whose ages are unknown.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is allocating $1.4 million in aid to help South Carolina officials counteract the outbreak.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also is working with state officials to identify transmission trends and helping to coordinate the state’s response.
The 789 cases reported as of Tuesday in South Carolina exceed the 762 reported in Texas a year ago during a measles outbreak that ended in August.
The outbreaks in those states and others might result in the United States being removed from the Pan American Health Organization’s list of nations in which measles has been eliminated.