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,

At least 124 cases of measles have been reported in Texas since late January — marking the largest outbreak in the state in close to 30 years. The dozens of reported cases have mostly affected 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.