South Carolina already registers the worst measles outbreak in the last 25 years in the US

Health authorities in the North American state of South Carolina have already confirmed 874 cases due to the measles outbreak declared in October, the most serious declared in the entire country in the last 25 years after Texas temporarily topped that list last year.

The latest general update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US puts the national total of cases in 2026 alone at 588, compared to the 2,267 recorded throughout last year. In the last three days alone, South Carolina has confirmed 58 new cases. A total of 222 infections have been identified in children under five years of age.

It has only taken six weeks for the state to overcome the Texas outbreak, in which two children died and left 762 cases. There are still no confirmed fatalities but at least 18 people have had to be hospitalized due to complications derived from the disease.

This outbreak occurs under the leadership of North American Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic and accused of routinely spreading false pseudoscientific information.

Its Department of Health and Human Services has assured that it is supporting the measles response in South Carolina with one million euros in aid and indicated that the CDC is working closely with state health authorities to investigate measles transmission patterns.

CDC Principal Deputy Director Ralph Abraham, a former Louisiana surgeon general and Kennedy pick who ended some vaccine promotions in his state before taking his new job late last year, argued last week that continued measles transmission from the Texas outbreak has not been proven, which would jeopardize the US’s status as a measles-free country.

“We have communities that choose not to get vaccinated. That is their personal freedom,” Abraham explained in statements reported by CNN. Although he clarified that “vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent measles,” he has also declared himself willing to listen to “alternatives” for “treatment and prevention.”