Measles causes brain swelling in children in South Carolina

Some children are affected Measles People in South Carolina’s ongoing outbreak have developed serious complications of a disease called encephalitis, or brain swelling, state epidemiologist Linda Bell said Wednesday.

A measles outbreak in South Carolina began in October with a small number of infections. As of February 3, cases have emerged It rose to 876Of these, 700 have been reported since the beginning of the year. Mutation can mean Another bad year of measles For the United States, which had more than 2,267 cases — the highest in 30 years — in 2025. Low vaccination rates across the country are fueling a resurgence of the disease.

Encephalitis is a rare and severe complication of measles that can lead to convulsions and cause deafness or intellectual disability in children. This usually occurs within 30 days of the initial measles infection and can occur if the brain becomes infected with the virus or if an immune reaction to the virus causes inflammation of the brain. Among children who develop measles encephalitis, 10 to 15 percent die.

It is not known how many children in South Carolina have developed this serious complication. Under state law, measles cases must be reported to the South Carolina Department of Public Health, but hospitalizations and measles complications are not required to be disclosed.

“We don’t comment on individual outcomes, but we know that encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, is a known complication of measles,” Bell told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday. “Any time you get inflammation of the brain, there can be long-term consequences, things like delayed development and effects on the nervous system that can be irreversible.”

The department is aware of 19 measles-related hospitalizations in the state, including some due to pneumonia, which occurs in about 1 in 20 children with measles and is the leading cause of death in children with measles.

Bell also said many pregnant women who were exposed to the virus needed to be given immunoglobulin, a concentrated solution of antibodies. It provides temporary protection against measles for unvaccinated individuals. Exposure to measles during pregnancy can lead to premature birth or miscarriage.

A rare type of brain swelling called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE, can occur years after a measles infection. In September, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health I mentioned Death of a school-age child due to SSPE. The child originally contracted measles as an infant before he was old enough to receive the measles vaccine, the first dose of which is recommended for children aged 12 to 15 months.

After recovering from the initial measles illness, the child developed SSPE, in which the virus remains dormant in the brain before triggering an inflammatory response that destroys brain tissue over time. This condition usually appears seven to ten years after a person has recovered from the initial measles infection. An estimated two out of every 10,000 people who get measles eventually develop SSPE.

The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best way to prevent measles and its associated serious complications.

More than 7,000 additional doses of the MMR vaccine were administered statewide in South Carolina in January this year compared to January 2025, a 72 percent increase. In Spartanburg County, the epicenter of the outbreak, more than 1,000 more doses were administered in January than in January 2025, an increase of 162 percent. Bell said January has so far been the best month for measles vaccination during the outbreak.