A “school-aged” child in Los Angeles County has died due to complications from a measles infection acquired in infancy, prompting health officials Thursday to urge residents to ensure they and their families are vaccinated against the illness.

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the child who died was originally infected with measles as an infant, before being old enough to receive the measles vaccine. The vaccine is generally administered between 12 and 15 months of age.

The unidentified child recovered from the initial measles illness, but later developed and died from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, also known as SSPE, a universally fatal complication that can occur in individuals who had measles early in life, according to county officials.

SSPE is

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