Jan 21 (Reuters) – The ongoing measles outbreak in South Carolina could drag on for weeks or months amid slow vaccine uptake, the state epidemiologist warned on Wednesday, as new infections and public exposures raise the risk of wider spread.
“The current trajectory where we are seeing double-digit cases that are newly identified each day … is very concerning,” state epidemiologist Linda Bell told reporters during a briefing, adding that the outbreak may drag on for “potentially months more” if there’s no change in protective behaviors.
South Carolina’s health department on Tuesday reported 646 measles cases tied to the outbreak, an increase of 88 since Friday, with at least 538 people in quarantine after being exposed to the virus.
Fresh public exposures were reported at Clemson and Anderson universities.
The outbreak, which began in October, is centered in the northwest part of the state, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg.
Bell said that although the uptake of vaccinations in the community was encouraging in the first month or so of the outbreak, it has slowed since.
She said families cite a range of reasons for avoiding measles shots, including doubts about effectiveness, general hesitancy toward immunization and exposure to misinformation about side effects.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
