• Posted January 15, 2026

Measles Outbreaks Grow in South Carolina and Southwest, Officials Warn

Health officials are struggling to contain two growing measles outbreaks in the U.S., as new cases continue to climb weeks after holiday travel and gatherings helped the virus spread.

In South Carolina, officials confirmed 124 new measles cases since Friday, pushing the state’s total to 434 cases as of Tuesday. 

The outbreak is centered in Spartanburg County and has become one of the nation’s largest.

At the same time, a separate outbreak along the Arizona-Utah border has sickened 418 people since August, health officials said. 

The cases are concentrated in border communities near Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, an area known as Short Creek.

Last year marked the worst year for measles in the U.S. since 1991, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

In 2025, 2,242 measles cases across 45 states were reported. Three people, all of whom were unvaccinated, died. 

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It often begins with fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes, followed by a rash. 

While many children recover, measles can cause serious complications, including pneumonia, brain swelling, blindness and death.

The CDC considers measles eliminated in the U.S. since 2000, but ongoing outbreaks now threaten that status.

South Carolina’s outbreak has grown quickly over the past month. Hundreds of children have been quarantined after school exposures — some more than once. 

Officials also confirmed that a person with measles exposed others at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia last week.

South Carolina’s outbreak could soon approach levels of last year’s outbreak in Texas, where 762 cases were reported and two children died. Health experts suspect that total may have been undercounted.

Out West, Arizona health officials reported nine new cases on Tuesday, for a total of 217 cases in Mohave County. Utah also added two more cases, for 201 in all. 

Officials in both states say the real number of infections could be higher.

“We did see our cases slow and then pick back up again after the holidays,” Nicole Witt of the Arizona Department of Health Services, told The Associated Press. “We’re hopeful we’ll see the end of this outbreak soon but, right now, we continue to see the same trickle of cases week over week.”

Health officials say the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine remains the best protection against infection. Children are advised to receive the first dose between 12 and 15 months of age, and a second dose between ages 4 and 6.

After two doses, the vaccine is 97% effective and provides long-lasting protection.

Measles spreads more easily when community vaccination rates fall below 95%, the level needed for herd immunity. 

Childhood vaccination rates have dropped nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and more families are requesting exemptions from school vaccine requirements.

More information

The Mayo Clinic has more on the symptoms and causes of measles.

SOURCE: Associated Press, Jan. 13, 2026