15 more people are sick with measles in the Upstate, bringing the total number of illnesses in the current outbreak to 126, according to an update released by the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) Friday. In all 129 people have been sickened with the virus in the state this year.
All but one of the new cases originated from household or community exposure. The one unknown source is still be investigated,
DPH also reports that there are currently 303 people in quarantine and 13 in isolation. Additionally, the department has identified public exposures at two more schools in the area.
DPH encourages those potentially exposed to notify their health care provider of the exposure before seeking treatment in an effort to mitigate the risk of public exposures in medical settings.
A person with measles is contagious from four days before the rash appears through four days after its onset, meaning people with mild symptoms can spread measles before they know they have the disease.