By Chad Terhune (Reuters) -As a measles outbreak spreads across West Texas, Dr. Ana Montanez is fighting an uphill battle to convince some parents that vitamin A - touted by vaccine critics as effective against the highly contagious virus - will not protect their children.

The outbreak is in nine counties in the southern plains. Three of those counties are in the district the speaker represents.

HOUSTON — Texas health officials report that measles cases have jumped again in an update released Friday morning. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that 198 measles cases in nine counties have been identified since late January. Twenty-three patients have been hospitalized.

Kennedy has touted the benefits of an unconventional measles treatment including the steroid budesonide, the antibiotic clarithromycin and cod liver oil, which has high concentrations of vitamin A.

A measles outbreak in West Texas has expanded to over 120 cases across nine counties, marking the largest outbreak in the state in three decades. The virus has also spread to New Mexico and North Texas, with health officials confirming a case in Rockwall ...