South Carolina's measles outbreak has continued to inch toward 1,000 cases since the beginning of March.
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported one new infection in its March 17 update to bring the state total to 997 cases. The state began March with 985 reported cases of measles, and DPH has reported 12 new cases throughout the month.
As case totals seemingly plateau, the number of people in quarantine has declined. Right now, eight people are in quarantine and none are in isolation.
Although DPH and state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell expressed potential concern with a surge in cases to follow spring break gatherings, the reported case count, for now, has stayed below 1,000.
According to DPH, the vaccination status of 19 infected individuals remains unknown. About 95% of those with a known vaccination status occurred in people who were not fully vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,362 measles cases across the country as of March 13. DPH's Tuesday update was not included in the count, but South Carolina was still responsible for 820 of the year's cases as of the CDC'S release.
