Public health authorities said Tuesday that an outbreak of measles in western Texas has expanded, while a new case was confirmed nearby across state lines in New Mexico.

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.

West Texas faces a measles outbreak, with 10 unvaccinated people infected, mostly children. Health officials expect more cases and emphasize the importance of the MMR vaccine as vaccination rates fall and exemption requests rise in Texas.

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

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.

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,