In 2000, health officials declared a major victory across the United States: measles had been eliminated across the country, the vaccine had done its job and the highly contagious and preventable disease had been quashed.

Case closed, roll credits.

Yet any avid horror film buff knows to wait for the hand emerging from the grave, the impossible return of the dead. In that same spirit, not to be defeated, measles has made a comeback, almost 20 years later. Health officials in Massachusetts are predicting that 2019 could be a “big year for measles,” with more than 260 cases reported across 15 states, including New Hampshire and Connecticut.

According to medical ethicist Art Caplan, anti-vaxxing messaging is to blame. “The whole reason it's back is [that] anti-vaccination messages are making some parents worry and not get the measles/mumps/rubella shot,” Caplan said in an interview with Boston Public Radio Wednesday.

Caplan said opting out of the measles vaccine is not the norm, but there are “pockets” of people declining the shot for a number of reasons, including a misconception connecting vaccines to autism.

"One group is still worried about safety, even after all the studies and all the analysis showing there's no connection between vaccines and autism,” Caplan said. “Those messages get out there and they scare people. They're wrong. They're false. We're starting to be able to diagnose autism in utero, so nobody's vaccinated in utero and you start to be able to look at the DNA and say that looks like it's predictive of an autism or developmental disorder. I think that's pretty good refutation on the safety side.”

Others, according to Caplan, believe that they can build up a stronger immunity through experiencing the diseases firsthand. “Nature, I think 90 percent of the time, is trying to kill you,” Caplan said. “I mean, there are bacteria viruses that are all out to get you — it's not good out there. We've buffeted a lot of that nastiness through vaccines and through medicine.”

Experiencing measles is unnecessary, according to Caplan, and not taken seriously enough. “While it doesn't kill you (because we put you in the hospital), you could be in the hospital for a week or 10 days. If you're a newborn, it could kill you, and it can leave you deaf,” Caplan said. “It also causes terrible disabling conditions. Most people don't get that.”

Massachusetts state officials announced Tuesday that a person diagnosed with measles in the Greater Boston area went to various locations around the state, potentially exposing others.

Caplan is the Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and director of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center. He’s also the co-host of the "Everyday Ethics" podcast.