The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has sent a team to Penobscot County, Maine, to assist local health officials in addressing a significant HIV outbreak. Arriving on Monday, six CDC staff members, including four epidemic intelligence service officers, will be in the Bangor area until December 19, 2023. This deployment follows a request for federal assistance that had been stalled during the recent government shutdown.
The HIV outbreak in Penobscot County, which began over two years ago, has predominantly affected individuals who inject drugs or are experiencing homelessness. As of October 2023, the number of reported cases reached a concerning total of 30. The situation is further complicated by reports of an increase in HIV cases among people who inject drugs in Cumberland County, which lies outside the outbreak’s immediate area.
Urgent Response to an Expanding Crisis
Matt Wellington, associate director of the Maine Public Health Association, highlighted the challenges faced by local health officials in managing the outbreak. “In a small state like Maine where it’s not normal for us to have HIV outbreaks of this size, we’re just not equipped to handle it by ourselves,” he told the Bangor Daily News last month. Wellington emphasized the need for more resources to understand the full extent of the outbreak and its spread.
The CDC team will conduct interviews with individuals impacted by the outbreak and help create educational resources for healthcare providers, response partners, and community members. The CDC had initially provided technical assistance in August 2025, but the request for additional epidemiological support was paused during the government shutdown, as federal travel is not authorized during such periods.
Local Health Officials on High Alert
The urgency of the CDC’s support comes as Bangor’s public health department, alongside the Maine CDC, is working diligently to contain the outbreak. This effort is made all the more critical with new reports indicating a rise in HIV cases in other parts of the state. A recent analysis by the Maine CDC identified five new HIV cases in Cumberland County this year among people who inject drugs.
Public health officials in the Portland area had already been preparing for a potential increase in HIV cases as the outbreak in Penobscot County continued. They are actively working to expand access to testing and other vital resources to mitigate the spread of the virus.
The collaboration between federal and state health agencies aims to provide a clearer understanding of the outbreak and enhance the response to what has become a pressing public health issue in Maine.
