Feb 27 (Reuters) – Measles cases in South Carolina rose to 985 on Friday, state health data showed, including six additional infections since Tuesday.

* Officials have warned that the widening outbreak couldlast weeks or months amid lagging vaccine uptake. * At least 61 people are in quarantine after being exposedto the virus, and two in isolation to keep them from spreadingthe disease. * Of those infected, 919 were unvaccinated, 19 werepartially vaccinated with one of the recommended two-dosemeasles-mumps-rubella vaccines, 26 were fully vaccinated and 21had unknown vaccination status. * South Carolina has reported a drop in measles cases overthe past two weeks, an encouraging sign that the outbreak may beeasing earlier than anticipated, a state health official said ina briefing on Wednesday. * The outbreak, which began in October, has been centered inthe northwest part of the state, which includes Greenville andSpartanburg, according to the South Carolina Department ofPublic Health. * Separately, the New Mexico state health department saidfour federal inmates held in southern New Mexico detentionfacilities have tested positive for measles, bringing the statetotal to five cases. * As of February 26, 1,136 confirmed measles cases werereported in the U.S. in 2026, according to CDC’s latest data.

(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Maju Samuel)