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Hundreds of people, including children, are quarantined in South Carolina on the heels of an upstate measles outbreak, which health leaders said stems from a lack of vaccinations and recent holiday travel.

At least 111 people have contracted measles since the outbreak began in early October, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH). Of the cases reported in the state's northwest region, 105 people were unvaccinated, state epidemiologist Linda Bell announced during a Wednesday, Dec. 10, news briefing.

The remaining six included three people who received only one of the two recommended MMR doses, Bell said, while another person was vaccinated and the vaccination status of the other two is unknown.

At least 254 people have been placed in quarantine − 16 of them in isolation, Bell said.

"This significant jump in cases is unfortunate," Bell said. "Vaccination continues to be the best way to prevent the disruption that measles is causing to people's education, to employment and other factors in people's lives in our communities."

Bell said authorities traced 16 infections to the Way of Truth Church in Spartanburg County in the northwest part of the state. The church, in the city of Inman, is part of South Carolina's Upstate region which also includes Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Oconee, Pickens, and Union counties.

More than two dozen new measles cases reported in South Carolina since Dec. 5

Since Dec. 5, Bell said, 27 new cases had been reported, bringing the total number reported to the DPH this year to 114.

Declared eradicated in the United States in 2000, measles recently made a comeback as vaccination rates have dropped.

Earlier this year, two children ages 6 and 8, died from measles amid an outbreak in Texas where Department of State Health Services data revealed more than 94% of cases were in unvaccinated people, USA TODAY previously reported.

"If people are willing to be vaccinated, receiving an MMR vaccination within 72 hours of exposure has been shown to prevent measles infections," Bell said.

What is measles and how is it spread?

Measles is a highly contagious, viral infection that primarily, and most severely, affects children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it infects the respiratory tract before spreading throughout the body.

It's a vaccine-preventable disease, and according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, one in five unvaccinated people who contract the virus end up hospitalized.

Measles is spread through contact with infected nasal or throat secretions, or by breathing in the virus after it's coughed, sneezed or sent into the air by an infected person, according to WHO. The measles virus can remain contagious in the air or on contaminated surfaces for up to two hours.

Symptoms of measles

Measles symptoms usually appear seven to 14 days after contact with the virus and typically include high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes, according to the CDC. Measles rash appears three to five days after the onset of the first symptoms.

Other signs and symptoms of the virus include:

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund

Looking for Santa in neighborhoods near Greenville & Spartanburg? Several fire departments in the Upstate have an honorary team member who lives in the North Pole. It’s true, and seeing Santa on a firetruck in Greenville, SC, and Spartanburg, SC has solidified a tradition for many families. Santa will visit close to 80 neighborhoods around the Upstate by firetruck, spreading Christmas joy!

He’s really busy this time of year, so the most efficient way to get a last peek at all of the good boys and girls of the Upstate is to hitch a ride with first responders and zip through neighborhoods. Reindeer magic only works at night, in case you were wondering, so this is the best way!

Santa on a Firetruck: Greenville, SC Neighborhoods

Local first responders are giving Santa a tour of the Upstate! See if he’s coming to your neck of the woods.

Santa Visiting Spartanburg Neighborhoods

The details of this annual event have not been announced for 2025, but please Stay tuned to the Inman Fire Department Facebook page for updates and schedule changes!

Track Santa on Christmas Eve

Don’t worry if you weren’t able to catch a glimpse this year of Santa before his big day! We have two other ways for you to track him on his journey this week.

In1955, a young man accidentally called the Continental Air Defense Command asking if they had seen Santa flying through the sky. The child had meant to call a Santa Hotline, however, the person who answered the phone that Christmas Eve just happened to be the Commander in Chief, Colonel Harry Shoup. The Colonel instructed his team to keep looking for Santa on the radar screens and at that moment a holiday tradition was born.

Join the team at NORAD to track Santa on Christmas Eve night, and you will be able to watch them track “Big Red 1” in real-time as he makes his way across the world.

The I Heart Radio streaming service has a station dedicated to all things Christmas that not only includes 24/7 Christmas music, but Santa will be checking in with listeners on Christmas Eve with Updates!