South Carolina health officials declared the state’s measles outbreak over after it passed a 42-day mark without new outbreak-related cases, bringing to a close what state leaders described as the worst measles outbreak in the U.S. in more than 35 years. Officials said 997 people were sickened since October, and that at least 21 hospitalizations occurred, based on voluntary reports to the state.
Dr. Edward Simmer, interim director of the South Carolina Department of Public Health, said the response succeeded because the outbreak stayed concentrated and the state moved quickly to identify exposed people and contain transmission. In a statement, Simmer said the outbreak was “predominantly contained to one area of one county and never went statewide,” adding that “thanks to timely investigations, identification of those exposed, and people’s willingness to stay home.”
As the state moved toward declaring an end, South Carolina also put a price tag on the response, estimating it cost $2.1 million. Officials’ declaration came after Sunday’s threshold of 42 days without additional outbreak-related cases, according to the statement released Monday by the Department of Public Health.
The outbreak’s trajectory, officials said, centered on northwestern Spartanburg County, where health officials described it as the fastest-growing U.S. outbreak in decades. State health officials reported confirming more than 650 cases in January alone and said the outbreak quickly overtook the 2025 West Texas outbreak, which sickened at least 762 people and killed two school-age children.
In explaining why cases slowed sooner than predicted, Dr. Brannon Traxler, chief medical officer for the state health department, pointed to both changes in the outbreak’s natural course and increased vaccination. Traxler said the outbreak may have waned partly because more people became sick, but she also said more people got vaccinated as public health workers, doctors’ offices and pharmacies administered nearly 82,000 measles vaccines from October to March—an increase of more than 30% from the same period a year prior.
Traxler said Spartanburg County saw a 94% increase in vaccinations, while the Department of Public Health also worked to interrupt spread through investigations and quarantine efforts. She said the department sent nearly 2,300 quarantine letters, made more than 1,670 case investigation calls, and worked across seven school districts to quarantine 874 students.
While South Carolina marked the end of its outbreak, officials said the state was not lowering its guard because measles cases can reappear, including through travel. Traxler said a case linked to international travel in Saluda County—west of Columbia—prompted quarantines for 41 people last week.
Across the U.S., meanwhile, health authorities continued to report new measles activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far this year, the U.S. logged 1,792 cases—nearly 80% of 2025’s record total—and 22 new outbreaks, with Florida reporting 134 cases and Texas 180, according to CDC data cited by state officials.
Of greatest concern to health officials in the current national picture was an outbreak that began on the Arizona-Utah border and then spread through much of Utah. Since August, officials said 607 people have been sickened in Utah, and Mohave County, Arizona, has confirmed 282 cases; genetic analysis presented at a CDC conference suggested the outbreak could have started six weeks earlier and may have been larger than initially reported.
Dr. Ellie Brownstein, a Utah pediatrician and president-elect of the state’s American Academy of Pediatrics chapter, said that even if the number of cases has slowed, it is still too early to assume an end. Brownstein said southwestern Utah still had the most cases at 258, while each of the state’s 13 local health districts has recorded at least one case, and she said, “It has marched through the state and is everywhere.”
South Carolina’s end-of-outbreak announcement, Dr. Martha Edwards, president of the South Carolina chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said, brought a mix of gratitude and frustration. She said she was “angry that many children and their parents had to worry about contracting or suffering through a disease that should have been nearly 100% preventable,” highlighting what she described as a gap between the availability of vaccination and the harm caused when outbreaks occur.
Measles itself remains among the most contagious viruses, state officials said, and it can lead to serious complications for young children and people with weakened immune systems. Public health officials also said the United States is still at risk of losing its measles elimination status, which it has maintained since 2000, and that international health officials will determine the status in November.
At the same time, South Carolina officials said that even after their 42-day threshold without new cases, people who are still vulnerable—those without immunity—should continue taking precautions. Traxler said South Carolina was “certainly not letting our guard down,” urging residents who remain at risk not to relax protections against the virus.