JERUSALEM, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- A two-year-old girl has died of measles at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, the hospital and Israel's Health Ministry said in separate statements on Sunday.

According to the hospital, the toddler died on Saturday after a 10-day hospitalization, during which she was placed on ECMO life support in the intensive care unit.

The ministry stated that this is the eighth measles-related death in Israel since the outbreak began in early April, all of them children who were previously healthy but had not been vaccinated.

The ministry also reported that a six-and-a-half-year-old unvaccinated boy is currently hospitalized and on a ventilator due to the disease.

By mid-October, 1,654 measles cases had been confirmed in Israel, with 533 requiring hospitalization.

The ministry identified 10 cities experiencing high measles incidence and recommended that residents advance the second dose of the measles vaccine from six years to 18 months.

It also advised that children aged 6 to 11 months in these cities, as well as visitors in this age group, receive an additional dose.

Unvaccinated individuals, as well as parents of infants who have received only one vaccine dose, were advised to avoid large gatherings in the affected cities to reduce the risk of infection.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that typically causes fever, fatigue, a runny nose, and a rash. In some cases, it can lead to severe complications and may be fatal. ■