Two dozen cases of measles have been reported in a small West Texas county that has one of the state’s highest vaccine exemption rates. In Gaines County, which has a population of about 22,000, 24 cases of the airborne infectious disease have been reported since late January. Most of them are unvaccinated, school-aged children.

A small county in West Texas has 15 measles cases, mostly in school-aged children. Gaines County, which borders New Mexico, has one of the highest rates of vaccine exemptions in the state.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has issued guidance to schools as the measles outbreak in Gaines County rises to 15 cases, mostly in children.

According to the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Rule §97.7, schools and childcare settings shall exclude unimmunized children for at least 21 days after the last date the unimmunized child was exposed to a measles case.

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

Public health practitioners warn such outbreaks will become more common because of scores of laws around the U.S. that ultimately lower vaccine rates.

Health officials in Texas are battling a growing measles outbreak in an area that has some of the state's lowest vaccination rates and highest non-medical exemptions. On January 30, officials reported two measles cases in unvaccinated,