The number of measles cases continues to rise in the United States, especially in the southeastern state of South Carolina, where more than 600 cases have been confirmed since the fall, local authorities said Tuesday.
As vaccination hesitancy grows, the serious and highly contagious disease is making a worrying comeback in developed countries, including the United States, which is now facing its worst outbreak in 30 years.
After more than 2,200 cases in three months in 2025, infections continue to multiply in 2026.
Part of the blame for the sudden health crisis is being placed on Donald Trump's health secretary, vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr., as he is accused of stoking fears about vaccination.
In South Carolina, on the East Coast, 88 new cases have been recorded since Friday, local health authorities said yesterday, raising the number of infections since the discovery of an outbreak in the fall to 646.
Authorities said most of the infected people were unvaccinated. In some cases, they were schoolchildren and young students at two universities.
Cases have also been reported in eight other US states since the start of 2026, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading federal health agency.
The situation raises concerns that the US could lose its measles-free status, which it achieved in 2000 after eliminating the disease thanks to vaccination.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced last week that the status of the United States and Mexico - where there has also been a resurgence of the disease - will be reassessed in April.
It withdrew this status from Canada in November, where more than 5,000 measles cases were recorded in 2025.
Measles causes high fever, respiratory infection, and skin rash all over the body; however, in some cases, complications such as pneumonia and acute encephalitis can occur, with very serious consequences, even death.
