SC reports 16 measles cases since July as national numbers continue to rise
Cases of measles in South Carolina’s Upstate continue to rise in a record-breaking year for the highly contagious disease that was once thought to have been eradicated. The Department of Public Health is reporting that it has identified 16 cases in the Upstate since July 9. Twelve of those cases have been in Spartanburg County.
A gym and two schools have been identified as sites of infection for the airborne virus, which causes a distinctive bright red rash and high fevers.
The virus is extremely contagious and most dangerous to children with 1-3 deaths occurring per 1,000 cases. Following a decades-long vaccination campaign, the disease was considered eradicated in the United States in 2000. But growing opposition to vaccines has led to a resurgence in cases, according to public health experts.
As of Oct. 7, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were reporting 1,563 total cases around the country in 2025. So far this year, the CDC has recorded 44 outbreaks. In 2024, there were just 16 outbreaks recorded.
An outbreak is defined as three or more cases of the same infectious disease linked to a common exposure.
The public health agency says that it has identified the Crunch Fitness located at 1332 South Pleasantburg Drive in Greenville as the source of a child’s exposure on Sept. 30. The department has warned that anyone who was at that gym between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on that day may have been exposed and should see their healthcare provider.
Measles, which is spread through the air and through direct contact with those infected or surfaces they touch, can linger in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves. A person infected with measles is contagious four days before the rash appears and four days after it clears up.
Fairforest Elementary and Global Academy, a charter school with multiple campuses, were both sites of exposure to the virus. At Global Academy, just 17% of the school’s 605 students are vaccinated. 85% of Fairforest Elementary’s 764 students are vaccinated. However, health officials say 95% of a given population needs to be vaccinated in order for there to herd immunity — the point at which a disease can no longer spread.
The five newest cases were recorded among people who were exposed in these schools and had been quarantining at home. Because they were quarantining before they became infectious, there were no additional exposures, according to the state health department.
At one point, 150 schoolchildren in the Upstate were asked to quarantine at home. That number is now down to 139 “following further investigations into potential exposure,” according to the health department.
This year, the country has recorded the most measles cases since the disease was declared eliminated in 2020.
“We have seen measles spread quickly in unvaccinated households here in South Carolina. We also know that it can spread quickly in unvaccinated communities based on outbreaks in other states,” the health department included in a statement on its website.
While South Carolina requires all students receive the MMR vaccine — which protects against measles, mumps and rubella — families are able to obtain exemptions for medical, religious or special circumstances. While rates of South Carolina students receiving religious exemptions remains low, they are increasing. In the 2018-2019 school year, 1.4% of students received a religious exemption from mandatory vaccinations. In the 2022-2023 school year — the most recent period where data is available — that number had grown to 2.47%, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health.
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.