As measles — a preventable disease the U.S. considered eliminated in 2000 — spreads through West Texas’ rural expanse, Klassen is sticking to an approach on vaccines that is a key tenet for Mennonites. Family leaders are the top decision-making authority — not outside recommendations, certainly not government mandates.

An outbreak of measles in northwest Texas grew to 159 cases on Tuesday, about a dozen more than health officials reported late last week. The latest update from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows the outbreak remains concentrated in school-aged children who have not received the vaccine that protects against measles,

The Texas Department of State Health Services updated the official case count in the deadly measles outbreak to 159, up from the last reported case count of 146

Texas is facing its worst measles outbreak in decades, as cases have jumped from two to 146 in just one month.

Measles has sickened nearly 150 mostly unvaccinated people in rural West Texas, and a school-age child has died