Columbia doctors warn what a measles outbreak would look like in the SC city

South Carolina is dealing with a rapidly expanding measles outbreak that could spread across the Midlands.

The South Carolina Department of Public health confirmed on Tuesday that a person infected with the disease may have exposed others at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia.

As of Tuesday, the SCDPH reported 434 cases of measles, centered around Spartanburg County, which is nearly double the amount from last week. The measles outbreak was first reported in October in the Upstate. An outbreak is defined as three or more cases of the same infection disease.

The State spoke with two doctors on Wednesday who specialize in infectious diseases to answer questions about measles and the disease’s potential impact in Columbia.

Dr. Deborah Greenhouse is a Columbia pediatrician that works at Palmetto Pediatric and Adolescent Clinic. She has been very outspoken about protecting children from dangerous diseases.

Dr. Anna Kathryn Burch is the Division Director for Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Prisma Health in the Midlands.

Here are the questions we asked:

What are your thoughts on the measles outbreak?

“It’s very concerned that the numbers are rising as rapidly as they are, because the more the numbers rise, the more the virus is going to spread,” Greenhouse said. “Measles do not respect county borders or state borders.”

“It’s heartbreaking to me that we are currently having an outbreak, especially in the state where I was born and raised,” Burch said.

What would a measles outbreak in Columbia look like?

“In a time when we potentially might have measles cases, we’re also in the midst of flu season,” Burch said. “It [could put] a big burden on hospital systems who have to have multiple people who are admitted.”

“Prisma Health absolutely can handle that, we are here to treat ill patients both in the pediatric and adult side. It’s not something we haven’t dealt with before, but it does put a strain on the system,” Burch said.

“Well, I mean, certainly you would see spread in the area,” Burch said. “Anyone who was at the State Museum of South Carolina around that time [when Columbia’s first measles patient was there] could have been exposed.”

“The Midlands tend to be higher than the immunization rate in the Upstate, so that helps somewhat,” Greenhouse said. “But still, there are babies too young to be immunized, and there are folks whose immune systems don’t work correctly. Any of those folks could be at risk of catching measles if it starts to take root in the Midlands.”

Why is this happening to SC in particular?

“It’s happening because the immunization rate in the Upstate was lower than the rest of the state and because it was lower than the level that you need to prevent these outbreaks,” Greenhouse said.

“It was lower than the level needed for what we call herd immunity. There were schools in the Upstate that had incredibly low vaccination rates, and in some cases, below 25%. You need 95% for herd immunity for measles,” she said.

According to the SCDPH, Upstate students with required immunizations dropped to 92.8% in 2025. It was once 96.2% in 2021.

How dangerous is measles?

“Very young children and infants are at higher risk for severe complications from measles and for ending up in the hospital,”. Greenhouse said. “Older children do tend to tolerate it better, but it’s still a serious illness.”

“It is so contagious that 90% of susceptible children exposed to measles will catch it. Of the kids that catch it, 15% to 20% will end up in the hospital, and one to 3 per 1000 will die,” she added. “Folks who say that measles is just a fever and rash, they’re wrong.”

How should you protect yourself against measles?

“The MMR vaccine is the best chance that you have to protect yourself from getting measles,” Burch said. “What I recommend for individuals who are not feeling well, who might have cold symptoms or if they have a fever, those kinds of things, please stay home ... that would be my biggest wish.”

“Vaccination is really the best and only good means of protecting yourself,” Greenhouse said.

The MMR vaccine is a combined vaccination that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

What would you say to someone who’s skeptical of vaccines?

“I would say that the MMR vaccine has been around for a very, very, very long time,” Burch said. “It has been extensively studied, both in the United States and across the world. It absolutely does not cause autism. That has been completely debunked by good evidence and good research.”

“I would encourage families to ... reach out to their primary care provider to get good information about vaccines in general,” she added.

What else should readers know about measles?

“I think individuals are not really clued in on the ... bacterial infections you can get after [getting] measles,” Burch said. “And so I think it’s important for readers to know ... that you can get bacterial infections after measles because you’re immunocompromised.”

The measles virus can wipe out the body’s immune memory, which can make those who’ve gotten measles vulnerable to other dangerous diseases like pneumonia and the flu. This is known as Immune Amnesia.

“All people, after they get the measles, will be immunocompromised, period. How long that duration will be depends on the person’s immune system,” Burch said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a guideline to protect yourself from measles and stop the spread.

Look at SCDPH’s website to see updates on the measles outbreak.