(Reuters) -The Texas Department of State Health Services on Friday, reported 597 measles cases in the state since late January, an increase of 36 since the update on Tuesday.

The department said the outbreak is primarily in West Texas and added that 4% or fewer than 30 of the confirmed cases are estimated to be actively infectious since their rash onset date was less than a week ago.

Earlier this week, the department reported 561 cases in the state, as the U.S. government said it was sending seven people to the state to help battle the outbreak of the childhood disease.

The total number of patients hospitalized since the outbreak rose by four to 62 and the total deaths remained at two, which were school-aged children living in the outbreak area.

The Texas department also added that additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities, due to the highly contagious nature of this disease.

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(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Franklin Paul)