Retiring health officer warns that Zika is a priority for Stanislaus County

Although his last day on the job is Thursday, Dr. John Walker had plenty of unfinished business to attend to this week, such as warning spring break travelers to take precautions for the Zika virus.

The state warned people traveling to Mexico and other destinations in Latin America to avoid mosquito bites that can transmit Zika. It’s also possible to contract the virus from unprotected sex.

The Zika virus, which can infect pregnant women and cause severe birth defects in infants, has been detected in popular tourist destinations in Mexico including Ensenada, just 85 miles south of San Diego, and Cabo San Lucas.

More than 500 travel-related cases of Zika have been confirmed in California in recent times, including four in Stanislaus County. So far, there have been no cases of local transmission in the state.

Walker, 70, is retiring after 17 years as public health officer for Stanislaus County. He said Zika is going to be a priority for the county in the coming years.

The county’s West Nile virus task force was recently renamed the “Vector-borne Disease Task Force” to include Zika in a broader mission to protect the public against diseases spread by mosquito bites. Two mosquito species that can transmit Zika have been found in several counties of California.

The recent flooding and swollen rivers have created conditions for an explosion of mosquitoes that can transmit West Nile illness to people in Stanislaus County. The illness has been endemic in the county for more than a dozen years.

By favoring mosquitoes, the wet conditions heighten the risk that more residents will be exposed to West Nile in the late spring and summer. West Nile is potentially deadly and capable of causing long-term neurological illness in a person bitten by an infected mosquito.

“We have been working hard on preparing our county because of the flooding and continued issues,” Walker said. “The report from our mosquito abatement district managers is that we are having an early season. They are working hard on a strategy to protect the public.”

Health officer is honored

In presenting Walker with a commendation Tuesday, county supervisors praised him for his expertise in public health, collaboration with other groups and genuine concern for the health of the county’s 540,000 residents.

“This has been a great journey,” Walker said. “I am really so grateful to those who made a difference. This has been more than a job. It has been a calling.”

Walker is ending his career with a county that has its own set of public health issues, including high rates of obesity and diabetes, asthma and lung disease tied to polluted air and a disabling West Nile illness that may strike a few dozen residents each year.

Replacing Walker won’t be easy, not only because of his personal attributes. The professional qualifications and limited number of candidates with those credentials, make it a challenge for counties to fill top public health positions.

The county Health Services Agency began recruiting for a new health officer in the fall. The salary range for the job is $158,412 to $237,619 a year.

Mary Ann Lee, county health services director, said Tuesday she didn’t have a count on the number of candidates who have applied. The candidates, from this region of California and from outside the state, are going through a review process.

Lee said she hopes to recommend a top finalist to the Board of Supervisors in one to three months. Dr. Del Morris, medical director of the county health clinics, is stepping in as interim health officer.

“It is a position that requires expertise to guide the county, whether it is an emerging health problem or prevention,” Lee said. “The health officer is the key medical adviser for the county on public health issues.”

Walker said the national epidemic of opioid and prescription-drug addiction also is an emerging issue for the county.

As he prepares for retirement, Walker is encouraged by a 22 percent decrease in the teen pregnancy rate in Stanislaus County. The lower rate was reflected in numbers for the three-year period between 2012 and 2014.

Walker said the county’s problem with obesity and related health conditions could improve with efforts to raise educational attainment in the county. The education level of parents is reflected in the general health of a community.

Walker, who graduated from Duke University medical school in 1971, began his career with the federal Center for Disease Control. He was a doctor with the U.S. Army and worked for Tenet Healthcare Corp. before he was hired as Stanislaus County’s public health officer in 2000.

Lee said that Walker will be a hard act to follow.

“He has the technical background but also has a collaborative style,” Lee said. “He was very inclusive and very gracious. He believed that improving the public’s health was about the community, not about the public health department or the public health officer.”

This story was originally published March 28, 2017 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Retiring health officer warns that Zika is a priority for Stanislaus County."