State epidemiologist Linda Bell tells reporters about the latest in the measles outbreak on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Screenshot of Department of Public Health livestream)
COLUMBIA — Only one person was diagnosed with measles this week, the state health department said Friday, marking the biggest dip in new cases since the outbreak began in October.
Since the disease started spreading without a clear source five months ago, 997 people have contracted the virus, according to the state Department of Public Health. No new cases were reported between Tuesday and Friday, suggesting the nation’s largest outbreak may be nearing a close.
For the outbreak to officially end, the state must go 42 days with no new cases, the health department said in a Friday news release. The virus can lay dormant without showing symptoms for up to 21 days, meaning more cases could still emerge.
“We are not letting our guard down,” state epidemiologist Linda Bell told reporters Wednesday.
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Two people were in quarantine Friday, meaning they’d been exposed to the virus but didn’t have symptoms. Unless new cases arise, the ongoing quarantines will end March 28.
Of the 997 people sickened, nearly 95% were unvaccinated or had only one of two doses of the vaccine, according to the health department.
The state has seen a significant increase in the number of shots in arms over the past several months compared with the same time last year, especially in the Upstate, the outbreak’s epicenter.
Vaccination is the only sure way to avoid the virus, and it allowed the country to declare the disease eradicated in 2000, Bell said.
Travel, especially as schools begin spring break, could cause the number of cases to rise again. Winter break made it harder for officials to track the disease’s spread, since the health department no longer had schools helping track down parents of infected children. Though shorter, spring breaks raise similar concerns, Bell said.
“We’re encouraged by the declining numbers, but at the same time we are aware that we still have a number of people who remain at risk and the potential for this to cause our cases here to increase again,” Bell said. “We hope that this will not be the case if people can take preventive measures now.”
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
