In rural West Texas, measles has sickened nearly 150 people, most of them unvaccinated. A school-age child has died. The virus is spreading among Gaines County’s Mennonite community, where government mandates are not trusted.

The Mennonite population being affected by a measles outbreak in West Texas is part of a larger, loosely affiliated group of churches worldwide with

The Mennonite population being affected by a measles outbreak in West Texas is part of a larger, loosely affiliated group of churches worldwide.

As the number of identified measles cases continues to grow in West Texas, one isolated religious community has been hit particularly hard: the Mennonites. Who are they, and why are they so vulnerable to the outbreak?

Measles had struck this West Texas town, sickening dozens of children, but at the Community Church of Seminole, more than 350 worshippers gathered for a Sunday service. Sitting