The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 124 cases across nine counties, the state health department said Tuesday, and 18 people are hospitalized. The outbreak is largely spreading in the Mennonite community in an area where small towns are separated by vast stretches of oil rig-dotted open land but connected due to people traveling between towns for work, church, grocery shopping and other day-to-day errands. Brownfield Mayor Eric Horton, a Republican, said he believes in the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine because it has been used for so many years and has stopped measles from spreading in the U.S. Brownfield is in Terry County, which has 21 cases. “I’ve never seen it this close, ever,” Horton said. “I know that we’ve had a few outbreaks in years past but as far as right here, making national news, that is shocking.” In neighboring eastern New Mexico, the measles case count stayed steady Tuesday at nine. State public health officials said last week there’s still no evidence New Mexico’s outbreak is connected to the one in Texas. Measles is a highly contagious disease. Here’s what you should know about how to protect yourself against measles, as well as what’s happening in Texas and New Mexico. Where is measles spreading? Tuesday’s count in West Texas went up by 34 cases since Friday. Cases continue to be concentrated in Gaines County, which has 80 infections, and Terry County, north of Gaines, where there are now 21. Dawson County, to the east of Gaines, has seven; Yoakum County has five; Ector County has two; and Lubbock and Lynn counties have a case each. Martin County, also near Gaines, is new with three cases. The state also said there are four cases in Dallam County, which is in the far corner of the state’s Panhandle area and a couple hundred miles north of Gaines County, and potential exposures in mid-February from an infected, contagious person who traveled to San Marcos, San Antonio and New Braunfels. Texas health department data shows the vast majority of cases are among people younger than 18: 39 infections are in kids younger than 4 and 62 are in kids 5-17 years old. Eighteen adults have measles and five cases are “pending” an age determination. State health officials have said this outbreak is Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years. Cases have been concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community, health department spokeswoman Lara Anton has said — especially among families who attend small private religious schools or are homeschooled. A Brownfield resident and father of three told The Associated Press that he’s not too concerned about the outbreak. “I only found out because it was a word-of-mouth thing,” said Dylan Cruz, 28, whose children are vaccinated against measles. In New Mexico, all the cases are in Lea County, which borders Gaines County in Texas. The state health department has said people may have been exposed at a grocery store, an elementary school, a church, Nor-Lea Hospital and a Walgreens in Hobbs, New Mexico. What is measles? Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most kids will […]