More cases of measles in the Upstate as outbreak continues. What to know.
The Upstate has seen seven new cases of measles since Tuesday, the South Carolina Department of Public Health announced Friday.
That brings the total number of cases the state has seen this year up to 65 and comes amid an outbreak that the health department confirmed in early October. Six of the new cases are household members of known cases who were in quarantine, the department said in a Friday press release.
The department wrote in the release that there was an exposure at a Spartanburg Costco (211 W. Blackstock Rd.) on Nov. 18 between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. and warned those who don’t have immunity through vaccination or previous disease to be aware of measles symptoms. If you experience symptoms, the department said, contact your health care provider.
“Notifying a health care provider of a potential exposure before seeking care is very important. This allows prior arrangements to be made in clinical settings to prevent additional exposures of staff and other visitors as some clinical sites have also been settings of public exposures,” the release said, adding that potentially exposed people should monitor symptoms through Dec. 9.
As of Friday, there are 144 people in quarantine and six in isolation as a result of the outbreak, which has impacted schools in the Upstate including Lyman Elementary, Boiling Springs Middle School and D.R. Hill Middle School.
Measles symptoms typically a week to 12 days after exposure and usually begin with a cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, along with a mild to moderate fever, the health department said. A few days later, the fever spikes and a red, blotchy rash appears.
A vaccine for the highly contagious disease has been in use since 1968 and it was declared eliminated from the United States, meaning the absence of the continuous spread of disease was greater than 12 months, in 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
