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.

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.

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.

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

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.