OAN Staff Jenna Lee
4:58 PM – Monday, April 27, 2026
South Carolina health officials officially declared an end to the state’s measles outbreak on Monday, marking the conclusion of a public health crisis that sickened 997 people.
Emerging in October 2025, the cluster became the largest of its kind in the United States since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.
The outbreak’s severity was exemplified by 21 hospitalizations, with several patients suffering from life-threatening complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis.
To ensure the virus was no longer circulating, authorities waited 42 days — equivalent to two full incubation periods — following the final reported case on March 15th before formally announcing the state was clear.
“Will we let out a big sigh of relief? Yes,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, the chief medical officer for the state’s Department of Public Health. “But we will not just throw a big party and never think about measles again.”
Beyond its immediate symptoms, measles is particularly dangerous due to “immune amnesia,” a phenomenon where the virus wipes out a child’s existing antibodies and leaves them vulnerable to other infectious diseases for years.
In rare instances, survivors may also face subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a delayed and devastating neurological complication. This progressive inflammatory condition, which triggers chronic brain swelling and cognitive decline, can manifest up to a decade after the initial infection and remains almost universally fatal.
The outbreak’s ripples were felt throughout the education system as 874 students across 33 schools were required to quarantine, contributing to a state response that cost approximately $2.1 million.
Public health experts suggest that the surge in national cases, combined with the reality of local exposures, likely prompted many hesitant parents to vaccinate their children. Meanwhile, several ongoing measles outbreaks are still taking effect across the United States, including in Florida and Utah.
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