Maria Godoy
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A single case can infect up to 18 other unvaccinated people on average.
The vast majority of cases to date have occurred in unvaccinated kids and teens.
Health officials stress that the measles vaccine is the best way to protect yourself against infection, and high vaccination rates are needed to prevent community outbreaks.
Officials say the uptake of the vaccine has been slower than is needed to stem the outbreak.
Public health officials in Snohomish County, Washington, say three children there contracted measles after being exposed to an infected family visiting from South Carolina.
All three children were unvaccinated.
Meanwhile, North Carolina officials say six measles cases there are connected to the outbreak centered in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
That state reported its measles outbreak nearly doubled in size this week, with 558 confirmed cases so far.
Doctors warn that the outbreak, which is the biggest one in the U.S.
right now, is likely to get worse before it gets better.
A single person with measles can infect up to 18 other unvaccinated people on average.
Experts warn that anyone not vaccinated is at risk.
The epicenter of the outbreak is in Spartanburg County, which is in the northwest part of South Carolina.
Most of the cases are kids and teens who are unvaccinated.
Officials say exposures have happened in lots of public places, including schools, churches, restaurants, and healthcare settings.
The vaccination rate in Spartanburg County is 90%, which is under the 95% threshold considered necessary to prevent measles outbreaks.
The county also has a relatively high rate of non-medical exemptions to school vaccination requirements.
These kinds of exemptions have been growing in the majority of U.S.