U.S. retains measles elimination status

The U.S. has retained its measles elimination status for another year, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 1,249 measles cases this year in 31 states and New York City, the most since 1992. The virus was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. Most of this year’s cases were associated with large and closely related outbreaks in New York. “We are very pleased that the measles outbreak has ended in New York and that measles is still considered eliminated in the United States,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “This result is a credit to the cooperative work by local and state health departments, community and religious leaders, other partners, and the CDC. But this past year’s outbreak was an alarming reminder about the dangers of vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.”