The South Carolina Department of Health reported three additional cases of measles in Spartanburg County.

That brings the number of cases in the state to 19 in 2025 overall and 15 in the current outbreak.

"All three cases were among close contacts to known cases who have been quarantining at home, and none were present in any school settings while contagious," said the state Department of Health (DPH) in an Oct. 18 statement. "Because they were quarantining before they became infectious, no additional exposures have occurred with these new cases."

Two Spartanburg elementary schools have been linked to the ongoing outbreak -- Global Academy of South Carolina and Fairforest Elementary. About 140 students are quarantined at home.

"We have seen measles spread quickly in unvaccinated households here in South Carolina," state health officials said.

DPH confirmed that the three new cases are among unvaccinated individuals.

Since July, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System has treated nine measles patients, said a hospital spokesman.

In response to the outbreak, the Department of Health has deployed a mobile healthcare unit to Spartanburg County. It will offer free measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines to unvaccinated individuals at the following times and locations:

* Monday, Oct. 20: 2-6 p.m. at Boiling Springs Library, 871 Double Bridge Rd., Boiling Springs, S.C. 29316

* Wednesday, Oct. 22: 2-6 p.m. at Wellford Baptist Church, 235 Syphrit Rd., Wellford, S.C. 29385

* Thursday, Oct. 23: 2-6 p.m. at Dr. T. K. Gregg Community Center, 650 Howard St., Spartanburg, S.C. 29303.

Dr. Aqil Surka, with AnMed Pediatrics, underscored that vaccines are safe and effective in a recent Greenville News article about the outbreak. "They're one of the best evaluated treatments we have, and they've been instrumental in preventing disease," he said.

Surka added, "I have never treated a case of measles, and I hope I never do."