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

Close-knit religious community claims it has been made a scapegoat for wider issue of anti-vax sentiment in rural West Texas

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.

Amid an alarming Texas measles outbreak, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time anti-vaccine activist, offered a mild endorsement of measles vaccines. He also downplayed their role in taming the dangerous virus that was once declared eliminated in the US.