The number of confirmed measles cases reported in an outbreak in West Texas is now at 124, the Texas Department of Health Services said in an update Tuesday, an increase of 34 since late last week.

A measles outbreak in northwest Texas grew to 124 cases in nine counties on Tuesday, and health officials warned that residents in other parts of the state may have been exposed to the highly contagious respiratory illness.

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,