After Mennonites in Gaines County were singled out in discourse about the spread of measles in Texas, local pastor Jake Fehr hopes to set the record straight.

Feb. 28, the number of measles cases in West Texas has risen to 146, with 20 hospitalizations, in an outbreak primarily affecting children and teenagers.

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.