2019 measles cases surpass 1,000 mark in U.S.

(CNN) – According to the Department of Health and Human Services more than 1,000 people in the U.S. have gotten the measles in 2019.

1,001 cases to be exact.

This is the most in a single year since the disease was eliminated nationwide in 2000, meaning the disease was no longer continuously transmitted in the country.

The number of reported cases this year marks the highest since 1992 when there were 2,237 cases reported in the United States.

Measles cases have been reported in more than half of U.S. states.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says the spread of a preventable disease like this is troubling.

Azar says his department is working on “stopping the outbreak and preventing the spread of misinformation about vaccines”.