The CDC is sending three service officers to South Carolina to assist the state in addressing an ongoing measles outbreak, officials with the state health department confirmed to The Hill.
The workers are expected to arrive in South Carolina the week of March 9 and stay for two weeks. They will focus on analyzing data the state has collected during the outbreak over the past several months, Linda Bell, MD, South Carolina’s state epidemiologist, said during a March 4 press briefing, according to The Hill.
South Carolina is experiencing the worst measles outbreak the nation has seen since 2000, when the virus was declared eliminated in the U.S. As of March 3, nearly 1,000 cases have been confirmed in the state since October. The vast majority of cases have occurred among unvaccinated individuals, according to data from the state health department.
While vaccine uptake rose in South Carolina in February, Dr. Bell warned another surge could be on the horizon during spring break, similar to the uptick seen over the winter holiday season.
“We saw another strong increase in measles vaccination uptake during the month of February, which is encouraging,” Dr. Bell said. “Compared to February of 2025, there was a 133 percent increase in measles vaccination in Spartanburg County with around 900 additional doses given.”
Three more measles updates:
- Medical experts have warned measles-related admissions in South Carolina may be significantly underreported. About 20 measles admissions have been reported since the fall, roughly a 2% hospitalization rate. Experts believe the true figure is likely higher because hospitals are not required to report release-related admissions to the state.
- The CDC has confirmed 1,136 cases so far this year — nearly half of the 2,280 cases reported across the U.S. in all of 2025. Alongside South Carolina, growing outbreaks have been reported in Utah, Florida and Arizona.
- The financial toll of expanding measles outbreaks could also escalate. A recent analysis from New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Public Health estimated outbreaks could cost the U.S. healthcare system up to $1.5 billion annually by 2030 if vaccination rates continue to decline, driven largely by public health response efforts, hospitalizations and lost productivity.
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