Authorities in the Austrian city of Salzburg say a measles outbreak has spread to more than 130 people, mostly schoolchildren.

Officials, in a statement posted on Salzburg's Web site Wednesday, say the epidemic began in a school and has since spread to 13 others located both in the city and the surrounding area.

Health Minister Andrea Kdolsky and Salzburg Governor Gabi Burgstaller are urging people to get vaccinated in order to contain the viral disease that is highly contagious and spread primarily through the respiratory system.

Measles symptoms include high fever, coughing and red skin spots. Once a scourge of children in Europe, it has become rare in recent decades as a result of vaccination programs.