As part of Maine Gov. Paul LePage's two-year budget cuts, the state Center for Disease Control and Prevention has eliminated 44 public health positions, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Most of the jobs cut were positions that had become vacant over the last four years, including the state epidemiologist and deputy epidemiologist positions, and a number of central infectious disease and regional epidemiologist posts.
An editorial responding to the cuts quoted the executive director of the Maine Public Health Association as saying the cuts represent the "dismantling" of the public health system and the senior vice president of public health at Portland-based MaineHealth as saying the state's response to a public health crisis is now "incredibly fragmented."
In recent years, Maine has dealt with outbreaks of H1N1 and seasonal flu as well as the threat of measles, whooping cough and even Ebola.
"Experience shows that another crisis is always just over the horizon," according to the editorial. "Unless the CDC is at full strength, the state won't be ready."