LAGOS, Nigeria 

At least 42 people, mostly children, have died following an outbreak of measles in a northeastern Nigerian state, an official said Friday. 

."The death toll stands at 42 out of 131 and 177 affected persons in Mubi and Gombi," Commissioner of Health and Human Service for Adamawa State, Felix Tangwame, said at a news conference in the state’s capital of Yola.

He said almost all local governments in the state have been on red alert to ensure the disease does not spread to other areas.

Tangwame said the government has activated machinery for the management and control of the airborne disease.

Measles outbreaks frequently occur in Nigeria, particularly in the northern region with severe heat and hash weather conditions.

In January, the Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) medical charity announced 591 new cases in an outbreak in Borno State in the northeast region.

Cases had risen to 9,000 as of early February, according to MSF.