‘It’s more worrying now,’ says MUSC scientist, referring to measles outbreaks

Michael Sweat, Ph.D., faculty director of the Medical University of South Carolina Center for Global Health, is about to get a measles vaccine. He had one as a child, but his vaccination fell within a window of time when he said protocols and the types of vaccine used were not as effective as now.

“There's just a question during that period from around 1957 to 1989. So normally, the guideline is not to get a booster. I mean, it hadn't been recommended unless you're in an endemic area or traveling internationally. But when there are outbreaks like this occurring, there's a lot more concern. My physician suggested I get one.”

Sweat said people who want to check their immunity levels can also ask a doctor about getting tested for measles antibodies. His comments come as the number of measles cases for 2025 in the United States has risen to more than 480, based on the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

 

No cases have been reported as of the start of April in South Carolina, but they have been in 20 other states. A child died from measles in Texas in late February, the first measles death in the U.S. since 2015. Gaines County, in west Texas, has been especially hard hit by the virus.

Sweat has been keeping an eye on the situation. “When it first was reported, it got a lot of attention that that outbreak occurred in West Texas. And I was kind of in the mindset of many people  – that most years, there's some little outbreak. But this spread has been dramatic, and it's more worrying now.”

Worrying, and a reminder that we’ve had relatively large outbreaks in the past, even after vaccines were available. “In 1989, there was an outbreak that occurred, and it lasted for a couple of years and about 55,000 people got the measles. There were 11,000 hospitalizations, and 123 people died. So it can happen. It's so infectious. And if it finds pockets of unvaccinated people, it can spread very quickly, as it's considered the most infectious pathogen,” Sweat said.

That concerns him because vaccination rates have gone down in recent years. “If you look nationwide, we've got a lot of anti-vax sentiment, low vaccination rates among kids who are really the most vulnerable and a weakened public health system. So I'm concerned. I think it could really take off.”

Doctors recommend that children get two doses of the MMR vaccine, which protects not only against measles but also mumps and rubella. Most kids get them when they’re a year old and when they’re 4 to 6 years old.

Measles spreads through coughs and sneezes, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Health. It can cause a fever, a cough and a runny nose and a rash that lasts several days. Measles also causes complications about 30% of the time and can include pneumonia and encephalitis. People at highest risk of getting severely sick and suffering from complications include kids under the age of 5, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. 

Sweat said people born before 1957 can assume they had the measles – it’s that contagious – and have immunity from that. But he encouraged everyone to be aware of current measles case numbers and locations. “Every time you turn around, there seems to be another case."