A west Texas outbreak of the measles virus has reached over 100 cases, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), with the majority of cases being unvaccinated children.

According to the society, the last US measles death was in 2015. A measles infection can have particularly devastating complications for pregnant women and young children, including pneumonia, neurological impairment, hearing loss and death.

The first person known to have died from measles in the U.S. in a decade was announced by health officials on Wednesday and described as a "school-aged child" who perished in a children's hospital in West Texas,