South Carolina measles outbreak surpasses Texas' 2025 total, with little
sign of slowing
[January 28, 2026]
The South Carolina measles outbreak has surpassed the recorded
case count in Texas' 2025 outbreak, as health officials have logged
almost 600 new cases in just over a month.
The outbreak centered in northwestern Spartanburg County is showing
little sign of slowing down, with health officials saying Tuesday that
789 cases have been confirmed since September. Last year in Texas, 762
cases were reported, although experts believe that was likely an
undercount.
A large outbreak on the Utah-Arizona border is also ongoing, and the
United States' measles elimination status is at risk.
As of Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had
confirmed 416 measles cases nationwide this year, nearly 20% of the 2025
case total. The other states with confirmed cases in 2026 are:
California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, North
Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.
Last year was the nation’s worst year for measles spread since 1991,
according to the CDC. The U.S. confirmed 2,255 cases and nearly 50
different outbreaks. Three people died, all of them unvaccinated,
including two children in Texas.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and
spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. A
vaccine can prevent it.
Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the
body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a
rash. Most people recover, but infection can lead to dangerous
complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.
The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more related cases.
How many measles cases are there in South Carolina?
South Carolina has logged 789 cases as of Tuesday in an outbreak
centered in Spartanburg County. Officials confirmed 89 new cases since
Friday.
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 The outbreak has rapidly grown in
the last month to the worst in the nation. Hundreds of children
across dozens of schools have been quarantined because of measles
exposures, some more than once. The outbreak has also spread to
North Carolina and Ohio.
How many measles cases are there in Utah and Arizona?
Health officials are still responding to an outbreak in an area
nicknamed Short Creek — the border towns of Hildale, Utah, and
Colorado City, Arizona.
Arizona health officials have documented 222 in Mohave County, and
in recent days a small number of cases were detected for the first
time in Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties. Utah officials have
confirmed 216 cases, 55 of them in the past three weeks.
Experts in both states have said they are concerned about
undercounts.
What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?
The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and
rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between
12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
After two doses, the shot is 97% effective against measles and its
protection is considered lifelong.
Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high
vaccination rates — above 95% — due to “herd immunity.” But
childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the
pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal
conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.
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