South Carolina's measles outbreak is now confirmed to be in Spartanburg County and Greenville County as the state's public health department reported new cases of the highly-contagious virus.
Since July, the state has recorded 11 cases of measles.
Seven of those cases are connected to the outbreak in Spartanburg County since Sept. 25, the state public health department said Wednesday. The department confirmed on Thursday another case of measles in Greenville County.
South Carolina is one of 44 state outbreaks that have reported a total of 1,563 measles cases as of Oct. 7, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC reported 92% of those cases were in unvaccinated people or were unknown.
Earlier this week the state Department of Public Health said some people were exposed to the virus through travel or close contacts. The current outbreak has no identified source, which the department said suggests the measles virus is circulating through the community and could result in more confirmed cases.
Bell said the state's measles cases were confirmed in unvaccinated people, who did not have immunity from a previous measles infection or natural immunity.
The two new cases reported Tuesday were also unvaccinated, the department confirmed.
"At this time, we are investigating known cases in a school," said Bell, who added that parents in the school have been notified about the outbreak.
On Wednesday, the department released the names of two schools connected to the outbreak: public charter school Global Academy of South Carolina and Fairforest Elementary in Spartanburg County District 6.
"DPH has been working closely with officials at each school, and both schools have been proactive in taking recommended precautionary measures to ensure student, teacher and staff safety and to prevent the spread of the measles virus to others," the health department said in a statement Wednesday.
The department said that includes identifying possibly exposed students and ensuring their absence from school activities until the period of possible transmission is over.
Two MMR vaccine doses are required to register for K-12 school.
For the 2023-24 school year, the department said 92.1% of kindergarten students had two doses of the MMR vaccine, down from 95% in the 2019-20 school year.
In Spartanburg County, the department reported 90% of students had required vaccinations in the 2024-25 school year, down from 95.1% in the 2020-21 school year.
Religious exemptions in the county have increased in the past five years.
In the 2020-21 school year, 3.4% of students had religious exemptions, DPH reported.
The department reported that number jumped to 8.2% in the 2024-25 year.
South Carolina's public health department has created a page to keep up with the state's measles outbreak, updated by noon on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Measles is very contagious, and spreads after an infected person sneezes or coughs.
Symptoms start with a fever, cough and runny nose. Those symptoms then are followed by a rash that can last nearly a week. The virus can cause complications that include pneumonia, swelling of the brain and death, the department said.
One infected person can spread the virus to eight to 20 people, Bell said.
Bell encouraged anyone who is sick to stay home and call a health care provider before visiting a clinic to help keep the spread slow.
Bell said the vaccine is the best way to protect against measles.
"Our concern level is for the entire state," Bell said early this month. "... It doesn't matter what region you live in. We are seeing unrecognized spread in this state."
Editor's Note: This article was updated on Oct. 8, 2025, to include updated state measles cases, the names of the two Spartanburg County schools connected to the outbreak and updated measles cases nationwide reported by the CDC.
