A child under five years old has died of measles in Ontario, according to the province's public health agency, the first such death in more than a decade.

In a report published Thursday, Public Health Ontario said the child was not vaccinated against the highly infectious respiratory virus. It did not indicate when or where the child died, or their age.

The report shows there were no other measles-related deaths recorded in the province between Jan. 1, 2013 and this week.

Measles has been on the rise in both Ontario and elsewhere in Canada as cases increase globally, particularly in Europe, which has seen tens of thousands of infections over the last year.