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.

Measles causes a fever, rash and cough, among other symptoms, and can be particularly harmful for babies and young children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preve

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,