Texas health officials issued a statewide measles alert after confirming 9 cases in Tarrant County Friday, says the Dallas News.

There was no reported measles case last year. This year's number of cases has reached 14, making it the largest number of reported measles case since 1996.

Texas health officials are urging people to be immunized as measles is a highly contagious disease. Although 98 percent of 15-month old children receive vaccinations against measles in the United States, a booster shot is needed to confer full immunity before the child goes to Kindergarten, says the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. Most people do not receive the booster shot.

"Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90 percent of the people close to that person who are not immune or vaccinated will also become infected with the measles virus," said state health officials in a report by ABC 13.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this viral disease is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons. Symptoms like high fever, runny nose, bloodshot eyes and tiny white spots inside the mouth will not appear until after 10 to 12 days of being infected with the virus. Measles then manifests itself in the form of rashes that usually starts on the infected person's face and upper neck which will then spread to the trunk.

The statewide measles alert was issued because of the probability that most physicians in the state have not seen the disease that often said the Department of State Health Services spokeswoman Christine Mann in a report by Dallas News.

The 9 cases of measles in Tarrant County reportedly started with an adult who developed measles upon returning to Texas from a travel outside of the United States in late July. The said case, along with another case of measles was reported Thursday while the most recent 7 cases were reported Friday.

Aside from the cases of measles in Tarrant County, there are two other reported measles cases in Dallas County, another two in Delton County and a single measles case in Harris County.