A measles outbreak is growing in a rural area of West Texas where vaccination rates are well below the recommended level.

A measles outbreak is growing in a Texas county with dangerously low vaccination rates. In late January, two school-age children from Gaines County were hospitalized with measles. Since an estimated 1 in 5 people with the disease end up in the hospital, the two cases suggested a larger outbreak.

On January 30, officials reported two measles cases in unvaccinated, school-aged children in Gaines County, which sits at the border of New Mexico and is around 90 miles southwest of Lubbock, Texas. Both children were hospitalized in Lubbock and had been discharged.

The outbreak in Gaines County, with a population of about 22,000, has grown since two cases were reported in January. All those who contracted measles were unvaccinated, health officials said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is reporting an outbreak of measles in Gaines County. All cases have been identified among unvaccinated school-aged children who are residents of Gaines County.

Measles cases are growing in West Texas and health officials are sounding the alarm about the outbreak that we are seeing and the possibility that the outbreak will grow larger. Last week we reported on two cases from Gaines County that were children who weren't vaccinated against measles and were being hospitalized in Lubbock hospitals.

Two school-age children from Gaines County who had measles were hospitalized in Lubbock, state officials said.

A measles outbreak is growing in a Texas county with dangerously low vaccination rates. In late January, two school-age children from Gaines County were hospitalized with measles. Since an estimated 1 in 5 people with the disease end up in the hospital,