A 17-year-old girl from Zeeland has died from complications after contracting measles, the public health institute RIVM said on Monday.

The girl, who died on Saturday, had not been vaccinated against measles. The Dutch Bible belt has been hit by a measles epidemic in recent months and over 2,000 people have been officially diagnosed with the disease.

The real total is likely to be far higher because many people do not report the illness to their doctors, the RIVM said.

Three people died during the last outbreak, which ran from 1996 to 2000.