Measles has been eradicated from the Americas after decades of vaccination efforts, making it the first region of the world to rid itself of the highly contagious disease, global health authorities said Tuesday, September 27, AFP reports.

Measles remains a top killer of children worldwide, and took nearly 115,000 lives in 2014 -- or about 13 deaths every hour -- according to the World Health Organization.

Before vaccination became widespread around the globe, measles killed about 2.6 million people per year.

"Endemic transmission of measles has been eliminated from the region," said World Health Organization director Margaret Chan.

"The Americas region has shown that with strong national immunization programs... dedicated financing and strong political commitment and partner support, measles can be stopped," she added, describing it as "an outstanding achievement."

Measles is now the fifth vaccine-preventable disease to be eliminated in the Americas, after smallpox, polio, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome, according to a statement from the Pan American Health Organization.

The end of endemic transmission means the virus is no longer commonly spread locally, although imported cases may still lead to isolated outbreaks.

The region of the Americas reported its last endemic case in 2002.

"However, since measles continues to circulate worldwide, some countries continued to report imported cases," said the PAHO statement.

Over the past year, from August 2015 to August 2016, all countries in the Americas showed documentation that endemic measles had been wiped out to the International Committee of Experts for Documentation and Verification of Measles, Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome Elimination in the Americas.