South Carolina – As the number of measles cases linked to an Upstate outbreak continues to rise, South Carolina state health authorities advise residents to be especially careful during the holiday season. The South Carolina Department of Public Health said that nine more cases have been linked to the crisis since Friday.
This brings the overall number of cases linked to the outbreak to 153 and the number of cases throughout the state this year to 156.
Families have been getting ready for holiday festivities and more travel, which health experts say is the best time for the disease to spread. Measles is very contagious, and even a short amount of time spent with someone who has it can make you sick, especially if you haven’t been vaccinated.
The department says that five of the new cases were linked to known household exposures. Two cases were from a school exposure that had already been reported. So far, one case has no known source, and the other is still being looked at.
Officials believe that transmission is becoming more common in homes and other places in the community now that schools are closed.
Dr. Linda Bell, the state epidemiologist, stressed how important it is to follow quarantine rules, saying that not doing so could put other people at risk.
“We want people to be aware that when they do not observe our recommendations to remain in quarantine for the entire time they could be incubating out… that if they go to certain cities it could pose a risk to others,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said per WCSC.
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Right now, 249 people in the state are in quarantine and seven are in isolation. The department has prolonged the quarantine period into mid-January because the number of patients has gone up. Most people are following the rules, but officials say some people have left quarantine to get medical attention or gone into public places, which raises the risk of spreading the disease even more.
The department looked at clinical samples from South Carolina and found that the measles strain involved shows genetic features that are often seen in outbreaks across the United States. Health agencies are still gathering information about the strain and keeping an eye on national events, such as worries that the country would lose its status as a place where measles transmission has stopped.
Officials are also keeping an eye on vaccination trends by looking at the department’s own registry and comparing data from this year to data from previous years. The department said that the rate of rise in vaccines has slowed, which is a pattern that is concerning during the current outbreak.
Health experts are warning that getting together and traveling can lead to unpredictable exposure and quick illness spread. Along with measles, the flu is also spreading quickly across the state. A recent report from the federal government said that South Carolina has experienced the greatest flu activity.
State flu surveillance shows that 1,184 people have tested positive for the flu in just one week, out of 2,811 tests done so far this season. There were 5.6% more visits to the doctor for flu-like illnesses, which is much higher than the state’s baseline.
Every area had more flu activity than usual, with Greenville County going above the baseline and Spartanburg and Anderson counties staying below it. During that week, there were 86 hospitalizations and four deaths across the state that were linked to the flu.
Health experts continue to advise people to get vaccinated against both the flu and measles to protect themselves. Primary care physicians, pharmacies, and most state health department facilities give vaccines. Many places also offer free measles vaccine appointments.
