Dec 16 (Reuters) – The South Carolina health department reported 135 cases of measles in the state on Tuesday related to an outbreak in the northwest part of the state, nine additional cases since its last update on Friday.

The widening outbreak has been reported in Upstate South Carolina, which includes Greenville and Spartanburg, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health.

The DPH said 168 people exposed to the highly contagious virus have been placed in quarantine and one person is in isolation to curb the spread of the disease.

Five of the new cases were from known exposures at the Way of Truth Church in Inman, three were from known household exposures and one was from a neighborhood contact.

Measles is a viral infection that causes symptoms such as fever, cough and a characteristic rash. It can also lead to severe complications like pneumonia and encephalitis.

It is preventable when countries attain a 95% vaccination coverage rate. That is the level needed for a community to achieve herd immunity and protect those who are unable to receive the vaccine, which is 97% effective after two doses.

Two doses of the MMR vaccine are required for school entry in South Carolina, a state that has seen sharp declines in vaccination rates since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of those infected in the current break, 127 were unvaccinated, three were partially vaccinated with one of the recommended two-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccines, one person was fully vaccinated and three had unknown vaccination status. One case is still under investigation, the DPH said.

Most cases were reported in children in the five to 17 age group followed by those below five years of age.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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