Hundreds are quarantined in South Carolina as measles spreads in 2 US
outbreaks
[December 12, 2025]
By DEVI SHASTRI
Measles outbreaks are growing along the Utah-Arizona border and in South
Carolina, where hundreds are in quarantine.
Between Friday and Tuesday, South Carolina health officials confirmed 27
new measles cases in an outbreak in and around northwestern Spartanburg
County. In two months, 111 people have been sickened by the
vaccine-preventable virus.
More than 250 people, including students from nine area elementary,
middle and high schools, are in quarantine some for the second time
since the outbreak began in October. Most of the state's new cases
stemmed from exposures at Way of Truth Church in Inman. Church leaders
have been very helpful, said state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell.
We are faced with ongoing transmission that we anticipate will go on
for many more weeks, at least in our state, said Bell.
In Arizona and Utah, an outbreak has ballooned since August. Mohave
County, Arizona has logged 172 cases and the Southwest Utah Public
Health Department has logged 82 cases. The border cities of Colorado
City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, are the heaviest hit.
Overall, Utah has confirmed 115 measles cases this year. Arizona has
confirmed 176.
Nationally, the measles case count is nearing 2,000 for a disease that
has been considered eliminated in the U.S. since 2000, a result of
routine childhood vaccinations.
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Anna Hicks prepares a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at the
Andrews County Health Department, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in
Andrews, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice, File)
 Last month, Canada lost that
designation which applies when there is no continuous local spread
of the virus as did the larger health region of the Americas.
Experts say the U.S. is also at risk of losing that status. For that
to happen, measles would have to spread continuously for a year. A
large outbreak in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma that started in
January sickened nearly 900 and kicked off the United States' worst
measles year in more than three decades.
All but eight states have logged at least one measles case this
year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC has confirmed 47 outbreaks this year, compared with 16 in
2024. Three people two of them Texas school children have died.
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is safe and provides 97%
protection against the disease after two doses. Most children in the
U.S. are required to get the shot to attend school. But vaccination
rates have declined as more parents waive the shots or have fallen
behind on recommended vaccination schedules.
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