Exposures at SC schools, airport and church
By Skylar Laird
SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — More than 130 people are in quarantine for measles exposure after infectious people visited schools, an airport and a church, the Department of Public Health said Friday, Nov. 21.
Since Oct. 2, the state health department has reported 52 measles cases related to an outbreak in the Upstate, plus three unrelated cases. Of the eight new cases reported this week, four came from exposures to known measles patients. It is unknown how the remainder contracted the disease, according to the health department.
Most of the 137 people in quarantine Friday were students and staff at three public schools in the Upstate.
The state health department did not say how many of the active measles cases came from each of the schools. When a student at a school tests positive, the schools send home every unvaccinated student to prevent spread, health officials previously said.
Lyman Elementary has 57 people in quarantine, Boiling Springs Middle School has 55, and D.R. Hill Middle School has one, according to the health department. The department did not specify how many unvaccinated people were students versus staff.
One person with an active case worked at Greenville Spartanburg International Airport and may have exposed travelers and fellow employees to the virus between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 and 11. Another attended Way of Truth Church in Inman the evening of Nov. 7 and the morning of Nov. 9, according to the health department.
Anyone who visited the airport or church on those days should monitor themselves for measles symptoms and call a doctor if they get sick, according to the health department.
Symptoms of measles typically begin between a week and 12 days after exposure with a cough, runny nose and red eyes, along with a fever. Cases can then cause a red, blotchy rash that appears first on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.
The best way to keep from getting and spreading measles is to get vaccinated, state epidemiologist Linda Bell has said.
Typically, children receive two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, which is about 97% effective in protecting from the virus. All but two of the people who contracted measles were unvaccinated. The two who had their vaccines only had one dose, which is less effective than the full two doses.
After Monday, the state health department was to stop routinely operating the mobile vaccine clinics that have run since mid-October. But organizations can still request a mobile clinic date through the health department’s website.
Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau. S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
