Earlier this week, Clemson University notified students and faculty via email that the South Carolina Department of Public Health has confirmed a case of measles in “an individual affiliated with the University.”
The individual in question has reportedly been isolated according to DPH requirements, and the department is conducting contact tracing to identify others who may have been exposed to outline isolation and quarantine protocols.
Per the DPH, “A person infected with measles is contagious four days before and after a rash begins. Isolation of an actively infectious case lasts until four full days have passed after the onset of the rash, and dates of isolation are determined by DPH,” according to the email sent out on Saturday, Jan. 17.
Individuals required to quarantine are those who do not have documented immunity, which “lasts for 21 days after last exposure per DPH guidelines,” the email continued.
As of Jan. 16, DPH has reported 588 cases of measles in the Upstate region of South Carolina.
The DPH posts updates on the number of cases on Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 p.m.
The email also said that according to Student Health Services, “nearly 98% of main campus Clemson students have provided proof of immunity.”
Clemson requires students to provide proof of vaccination from a variety of diseases, including the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.
Students can submit documentation for a medical or religious exemption from the MMR vaccine. However, the medical exemption requires additional documentation to obtain an exemption from the vaccination, and both exemption forms require consent to leave campus “for up to two weeks after the last case is confirmed.”