South Carolina surpassed 875 measles cases in the state's first update of February. The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) reported 29 new measles cases, which brings the total in the outbreak to 876. The public health agency also reported a new case of measles in Sumter County, and an investigation is underway into whether the new case is linked to the outbreak in the Upstate.
The added cases came a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted a statement from Deputy Director Dr. Ralph Abraham to X, formerly Twitter, in which he said, "Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's leadership, the CDC has surged resources, including vaccines and therapeutics, nationwide to support state and local response efforts and contain outbreaks."
Framing measles as an American policy failure is inaccurate and misleading. Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s leadership, the CDC has surged resources, including vaccines and therapeutics, nationwide to support state and local response efforts and…
— CDC (@CDCgov) February 2, 2026
The state's current outbreak is the nation's largest since measles was declared eliminated in 2000. And as more people contract the disease, DPH continues to ask unvaccinated South Carolinians to consider the vaccination and help "stop this outbreak."
DPH will again activate its mobile unit to offer the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination to the public. The unit will be at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Spartanburg on Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Of the 876 cases reported since the outbreak began, 800 have been in unvaccinated people and 16 have been in people with just partial vaccination completion. Twenty-two vaccinated individuals have contracted the disease, and DPH is still tracking down the vaccination status of 38 people.
January ended with 671 cases of measles reported through the month alone. To start February, DPH's reported the lowest number of new cases in a single update since Jan. 6. The decrease in spread came after South Carolinians were cooped up back-to-back weekends during different winter storms.
The outbreak remained tied to the Upstate and concentrated in Spartanburg County, but a case in Sumter County popped up.
DPH has reported measles cases in the counties of Spartanburg, Greenville, Anderson, Cherokee and Sumter so far. Symptoms like a rash on the face or a fever typically begin to show a week after exposure. For some, it can take 21 days to feel or notice any symptoms and visit a healthcare provider to be properly diagnosed and report the case.
Spartanburg County is home to 841 of the 876 cases, according to the state's measles dashboard. Greenville County has 28 people who have been infected with the disease. The count is less than five in each of Anderson, Cherokee and Sumter
counties. DPH had previously reported five cases in Anderson County residents, but further investigation from the agency found that was incorrect.
The Sumter County case is not yet confirmed to be connected to the outbreak.
DPH Public Information Officer Casey White said the agency will try and track down where the person had traveled to and could have contracted the disease. There is no specific timeline on the investigation.
Public exposure was identified at three different Sumter locations:
- Mariachis Mexican Restaurant at 1072 Broad St. in Sumter Friday, Jan 23. from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Those exposed should monitor for symptoms through Feb. 13.
- Food Lion at 5700 Broad St. in Sumter Saturday, Jan 24. from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those exposed should monitor for symptoms through Feb. 14.
- Walmart Neighborhood Market at 343 Pinewood Road in Sumter Sunday, Jan. 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Those exposed should monitor for symptoms through Feb. 15.
Right now, 345 people are in quarantine and 22 are in isolation. Nineteen people have been confirmed to be hospitalized due to complications of the disease.
