The Mennonite population being affected by a measles outbreak in West Texas is part of a larger, loosely affiliated group of churches worldwide with varied beliefs and leadership structures — and with sometimes strained or distant relations with health officials and other public authorities.

The state's largest measles outbreak in 30 years has been largely tied to a Mennonite community in rural West Texas. Earlier this month, Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services,

Texas health officials say the number of people with measles has increased to 146 in rural West Texas outbreak that led this week to the death of a school-aged child who was not vaccinated