Sleeman, J. M., Cristol, D. A., White, A. E., Evers, D. C., Gerhold, R. W. & Keel, M. K. Mercury poisoning in a North American river otter (Lontra canadensis). Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2010, 46(3): 1035-1039.
Jonathan Sleeman
Biography
Jonathan Sleeman is the Center Director for the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center where he leads a team to advance wildlife health science for the benefit of animals, humans, and the environment through multidisciplinary research and technical assistance to federal, state, and tribal agencies as well as internationally as a World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Collaborating Centre. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin, School of Veterinary Medicine. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters all on the topics of wildlife and ecosystem health. He is active in various scientific organizations, including the Wildlife Disease Association and Ecohealth International, and serves on the OIE’s Working Group on Wildlife. He is board certified by the American College of Zoological Medicine and received his veterinary degree and master’s degree in zoology from the University of Cambridge, England. Previous positions include Director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Center in Rwanda and Wildlife Veterinarian for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Education
- 2004 Master of Arts, Zoology, Churchill College, University of Cambridge
- 1997-2000 Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates Certification (DVM equivalency), American Veterinary Medical Association
- 1989-1992 Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (Distinction in Pathology, Microbiology and Avian Medicine), University of Cambridge, Department of Veterinary Medicine
- 1986-1989 Bachelor of Arts, Zoology (Awarded first class honours), Churchill College, University of Cambridge
- Special Zoological Medicine Training
- 1993-1995 Resident, Avian and Zoological Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Tennessee
- 1992-1993 Intern, Exotic/Zoological Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Tennessee
Science and Products
Date published: September 26, 2019
Status: Active International Reporting of Wildlife Diseases of Interest
Reporting of wildlife diseases is important to build situational awareness regarding wildlife health, build national and global knowledge capacity, increase coordination among agencies, and integrate wildlife health data into other surveillance frameworks.
Contacts: Jonathan Sleeman
Date published: August 13, 2018
Status: Active NWHC Historical Timeline
Here is a historical timeline of the work performed by the USGS National Wildlife Health Center from 1973 to 2004:
Contacts: Jonathan Sleeman
Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center
Year Published: 2021
Implications of zoonoses from hunting and use of wildlife in North American arctic and boreal biomes: Pandemic potential, monitoring, and mitigation
The COVID-19 pandemic has re-focused attention on mechanisms that lead to zoonotic disease spillover and spread. Commercial wildlife trade, and associated markets, are recognized mechanisms for zoonotic disease emergence, resulting in a growing global conversation around reducing human disease risks from spillover associated with hunting, trade,...
Keatts, Lucy; Robards, Martin D.; Olson, Sarah H.; Hueffer, Karsten; Insley, Stephen; Joly, Damien O.; Kutz, Susan; Lee, David S.; Chetkiewicz, Cheryl-Lesley B.; Lair, Stephane; Preston, Nicholas D.; Pruvot, Martin; Ray, Justina C.; Reid, Donald; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Stimmelmayr, Raphaela; Stephen, Craig; Walzer, ChrisAttribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2021
Risks posed by SARS‐CoV‐2 to North American bats during winter fieldwork
The virus that causes COVID‐19 likely evolved in a mammalian host, possibly Old‐World bats, before adapting to humans, raising the question of whether reverse zoonotic transmission to bats is possible. Wildlife management agencies in North America are concerned that the activities they authorize could lead to transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 to bats...
Cook, Jonathan D; Campbell Grant, Evan H.; Coleman, Jeremy T. H.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Runge, Michael C.
Year Published: 2021
Animal reservoirs and hosts for emerging alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses
The ongoing global pandemic caused by coronavirus disease has once again demonstrated the role of the family Coronaviridae in causing human disease outbreaks. Because severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was first detected in December 2019, information on its tropism, host range, and clinical manifestations in animals is...
Ghai, Ria R.; Carpenter, Ann; Liew, Amanda Y.; Martin, Krystalyn B.; Herring, Meghan K.; Gerber, Susan I.; Hall, Aron J.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; VonDobschuetz, Sophie; Barton Behravesh, CaseyAttribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2020
An ecological and conservation perspective
Natural ecosystems are facing unprecedented threats which directly threaten human well-being through decreases in critical ecosystem services (IPBES 2019). The top five drivers causing the largest global impacts to biodiversity and ecosystem services include: 1) changes in land and sea use; 2) direct exploitation of organisms; 3) climate change; 4...
White, C. LeAnn; Lankton, Julia S.; Walsh, Daniel P.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Stephen, CraigAttribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2020
Possibility for reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to free-ranging wildlife: A case study of bats
The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the substantial public health, economic, and societal consequences of virus spillover from a wildlife reservoir. Widespread human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also presents a new set of challenges when considering viral spillover from people to naïve wildlife and...
Olival, Kevin J.; Cryan, Paul M.; Amman, Brian R.; Baric, Ralph S.; Blehert, David S.; Brook, Cara E.; Calisher, Charles H.; Castle, Kevin T.; Coleman, Jeremy TH; Daszak, Peter; Epstein, Jonathan H.; Field, Hume; Frick, Winifred F.; Gilbert, Amy T.; Hayman, David T.S.; Ip, Hon S.; Karesh, William B; Johnson, Christine K.; Kading, Rebekah C; Kingston, Tigga; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Mendenhall, Ian H; Peel, Alison J.; Phelps, Kendra L; Plowright, Raina K.; Reeder, DeeAnn M; Reichard, Jonathan D.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Streicker, Daniel G.; Towner, Jonathan S.; Wang, Lin-Fa
Year Published: 2020
Quarterly wildlife mortality report July 2020
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) Quarterly Mortality Report provides brief summaries of epizootic mortality and morbidity events by quarter. The write-ups, highlighting epizootic events and other wildlife disease topics of interest, are published in the Wildlife Disease Association quarterly newsletter. A link is provided in this...
Richards, Bryan J.; Ballmann, Anne; Bodenstein, Barbara; Dusek, Robert J.; Sleeman, Jonathan M.Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2020
Assessing the risks posed by SARS-CoV-2 in and via North American bats—Decision framing and rapid risk assessment
The novel β-coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, may pose a threat to North American bat populations if bats are exposed to the virus through interaction with humans, if the virus can subsequently infect bats and be transmitted among them, and if the virus causes morbidity or mortality in bats. Further, if SARS-CoV-2 became established in bat populations, it...
Runge, Michael C.; Campbell Grant, Evan H.; Coleman, Jeremy T. H.; Reichard, Jonathan D.; Gibbs, Samantha E. J.; Cryan, Paul M.; Olival, Kevin J.; Walsh, Daniel P.; Blehert, David S.; Hopkins, M. Camille; Sleeman, Jonathan M.Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian
View Citation
Runge, M.C., Grant, E.H.C., Coleman, J.T.H., Reichard, J.D., Gibbs, S.E.J., Cryan, P.M., Olival, K.J., Walsh, D.P., Blehert, D.S., Hopkins, M.C., and Sleeman, J.M., 2020, Assessing the risks posed by SARS-CoV-2 in and via North American bats—Decision framing and rapid risk assessment: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2020–1060, 43 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20201060.
Year Published: 2020
Eradication of peste des petits ruminants and the wildlife-livestock interface
Growing evidence suggests that multiple wildlife species can be infected with peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), with important consequences for the potential maintenance of PPRV in communities of susceptible hosts, and the threat that PPRV may pose to the conservation of wildlife populations and resilience of ecosystems. Significant...
Fine, Amanda E.; Pruvot, Mathieu; Benfield, Camila; Caron, Alexandre; Cattoli, Giovanni; Chardonnet, Philippe; Dioli, Maurizio; Dulu, Thomas; Gilbert, Martin; Kock, Richard; Lubroth, Juan; Mariner, Jeffery; Ostrowski, Stephane; Parida, Satya; Fereidouni, Sasan; Shiilegdamba, Enkhtuvshin; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Schultz, Claudia; Soula, Jean-Jacques; van der Stede, Yves; Tekola, Berhe G.; Walzer, Chris; Zuther, Steffen; Njeumi, FelizAttribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2019
One Health: A perspective from wildlife and environmental health sectors
Loss of biodiversity, habitat fragmentation and pollution, and subsequent degradation of natural environments threaten the range of ecosystem services that support all life on this planet. These changes, among others, are also driving the emergence of infectious diseases, with negative health outcomes for humans, animals, and...
Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Richgels, Katherine L. D.; White, C. LeAnn; Stephen, C.Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2019
Response to “Prepublication communication of research results”: The need for a coordinated wildlife disease surveillance laboratory network
In “Prepublication Communication of Research Results”, Adams et al. (2018) outline the importance of timeliness in providing scientific results with consequential implications for wildlife management to responsible government agencies. The authors discuss various impediments to sharing of scientific results and provide well-reasoned arguments why...
Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Blehert, David S.; Richgels, Katherine L. D.; White, C. LeAnn
Year Published: 2019
Proposed attributes of national wildlife health programmes
Wildlife health is important for conservation, healthy ecosystems, sustainable development, and biosecurity. It presents unique challenges for national programme governance and delivery because wildlife health crosses not only jurisdictional responsibilities and authorities but also inherently spans multiple sectors of expertise. The World...
Stephen, Craig; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Nguyen, Natalie T.; Zimmer, P.; Duff, J. P.; Gavier-Widen, D.; Grillo, T.; Lee, H.; Rijks, J.; Ryser-Degiorgis, Marie-Pierre; Tana, T.; Uhart, M.
Year Published: 2018
Semi-quantitative assessment of disease risks at the human, livestock, wildlife interface for the Republic of Korea using a nationwide survey of experts: A model for other countries
Wildlife-associated diseases and pathogens have increased in importance; however, management of a large number of diseases and diversity of hosts is prohibitively expensive. Thus, the determination of priority wildlife pathogens and risk factors for disease emergence is warranted. We used an online questionnaire survey to assess release and...
Hwang, Jusun; Lee, Kyunglee; Walsh, Daniel P.; Kim, SangWha; Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Lee, HangView Citation
Transbound Emerg Dis. 2017 Sep 22. doi: 10.1111/tbed.12705. [Epub ahead of print]
Pre-USGS Publications
Sleeman, J. M., Magura, K., Rohm, J. H., Howell, J. & Murphy, L. A. Hepatic mineral values of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from Virginia. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2010, 46(2): 525-531.
Sleeman, J. M., Howell, J. E., Knox, W. M., & Stenger, P. J. Incidence of hemorrhagic disease in white-tailed deer is associated with winter and summer climatic conditions. EcoHealth. 2009, 6(1): 11-15.
Sleeman, J. M., Manning, E. J. B., Rohm, J. H., Sims J. P, Sanchez, S., Gerhold, R. W. & Keel, M. K. Johne’s disease in a free-ranging white-tailed deer from Virginia and subsequent surveillance for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2009, 45(1): 201-206.
Sleeman, J. M., Brown, J. D, Steffen, D., Jones, D., Robertson, J. & Holladay, S. Relationships among aural abscesses, organochlorine compounds and vitamin A in free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2008, 44(4): 922-929.
Kroenlein, K. R, Sleeman, J. M., Holladay, S., Brown, J. D., Joyner, P. H., Griffin, M., Saunders, G. & Smith, S. A. Inability to induce tympanic squamous metaplasia using organochlorine compounds in vitamin A deficient red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans). Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2008, 44(3): 664-669.
Joyner, P. H., Jones, M. P., Ward, D., Gompf, R. E., Zagaya, N. & Sleeman, J. M. Induction and recovery characteristics and cardiopulmonary effects of sevoflurane and isoflurane in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). American Journal of Veterinary Research. 2008, 69(1): 13-22.
Harris, M. C. & Sleeman, J. M. Morbidity and mortality of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) admitted to the Wildlife Center of Virginia, 1993-2003. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2007, 38(1): 62-66.
Joyner, P. H., Brown, J. D., Holladay, S. & Sleeman, J. M. Characterization of the bacterial microflora of the tympanic cavity of eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) with and without aural abscesses. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2006, 42(4): 859-864.
Joyner, P. H., Shreve, A. A., Spahr, J., Fountain, A. L. & Sleeman, J. M. Phaeohyphomycosis in a free-living eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina). Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2006, 42(4): 883-888.
Joyner, P. H., Kelly, S., Shreve, A. A., Snead, S. E., Sleeman, J. M. & Pettit, D. A. West Nile virus in raptors from Virginia during 2003: Clinical, diagnostic and epidemiologic findings. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2006, 42(2): 335-344.
Feldman, S. H., Wimsatt, J., Marchang, R. E., Johnson, A. J., Brown, W., Mitchell, J. & Sleeman, J. M. Novel mycoplasma associated with upper respiratory disease syndrome in free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in Virginia. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2006, 42(2): 279-289.
Steen, D. A., Aresco, M. J., Beilke, S. G., Compton, B. W., Condon, E. P., Dodd, Jr., C. K., Forrester, H., Gibbons, J. W., Greene, J. L., Johnson, G., Langen, T. A., Oldham, M. J., Oxier, D. N., Saumure, R. A., Schueler, F. W., Sleeman, J. M., Smith, L.L., Tucker J. K. & Gibbs. J. P. Relative vulnerability of female turtles to road mortality. Animal Conservation. 2006, 9: 269-273.
Adams, C. J., Feldman, S. H. & Sleeman, J. M. Phylogenetic analysis of avian poxviruses among free-ranging birds of Virginia. Avian Diseases. 2005, 49: 601-605.
Sleeman, J. M. Disease risk assessment of African great apes using Geographic Information Systems. EcoHealth. 2005, 2 (3): 222-227.
Richards, J. M., Brown, J. D., Kelly, T. R., Fountain, A. T. & Sleeman, J. M. Absence of detectable Salmonella shedding in free-living reptiles upon admission to the Wildlife Center of Virginia. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2004, 35(4): 562-563.
Brown, J. D., Richards, J. M., Robertson, J., Holladay, S. & Sleeman, J. M. Pathology of aural abscesses in free-living eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2004, 40(4): 704-712.
Urinalysis in free-living chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) from Kibale National Park, Uganda
Kelly, T. R., Sleeman, J. M. & Wrangham, R. Urinalysis in free-living chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) from Kibale National Park, Uganda. The Veterinary Record. 2004, 154(4): 729-730.
Brown, J. D., Sleeman, J. M. & Elvinger, F. Epidemiologic determinants of aural abscessation in free-living eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina) from Virginia. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2003, 39(4): 918-921.
Sleeman, J. M., Clyde, V. L., Finnegan, M. V., Ramsay, E. C. & Shires, M. Mammary botryomycosis and mastectomy in an African elephant (Loxodonta africana). The Veterinary Record. 2003, 152(2): 54-55.
Guerrera, W., Sleeman, J. M., Ssebide, B. J., Pace, L., Ichinose, T. Y. & Reif, J. S. Medical survey of the local human population to determine possible health risks to the mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda. International Journal of Primatology. 2003, 24(1): 197-207.
Adams, H. R., Sleeman, J. M., Rwego, I. B. & New. J. C. Self-reported medical survey of humans as a measure of health risk to the chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthhii) of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Oryx-The International Journal of Conservation. 2001, 35(4): 308-312.
Moresco, A., Larsen, R. S., Sleeman, J. M., Wild, M. A. & Gaynor, J. S. Use of naloxone to reverse carfentanil citrate-induced hypoxemia and cardiopulmonary depression in Rocky Mountain wapiti (Cervus elaphus nelsoni). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2001, 32(1): 81-89.
Sleeman, J. M., Keane, J. M., Johnson, J. S., Brown, R. J. & VandeWoude, S. Feline leukemia virus in a captive bobcat. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 2001, 37(1): 194-200.
Sleeman, J. M., Meader, L. L., Mudakikwa, A. B., Foster, J. W. & Patton, S. Gastrointestinal parasites of mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) from the Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2000, 31(3): 322-328.
Kearns, K. S., Sleeman, J. M., Frank, L. A., Munson, L. Zinc-responsive dermatosis in red wolves (Canis rufus). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2000, 31(2): 255-258.
Sleeman, J. M. & Gaynor, J. Sedative and cardiopulmonary effects of medetomidine and reversal with atipamezole in desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2000, 31(1): 28-35.
Sleeman, J. M., Cameron, K., Mudakikwa, A. B., Nizeyi, J-B., Anderson, S., Cooper, J. E., Hastings, B., Foster, J. W., Macfie, E. J. & Richardson, H. M. Field anesthesia of free-living mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) from the Virunga Volcano region, central Africa. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. 2000, 31(1): 9-14.
Sleeman, J. M. & Widdowson, M-A. Haematological reference values for East African wild ungulates. Research in Veterinary Science. 1993, 54: 261-263.
Date published: February 24, 2021
New study finds SARS-CoV-2 infection in escaped mink in Utah
Evidence of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been found in escaped farmed mink in Utah, according to a new study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center
Date published: February 27, 2020
National Wildlife Health Center co-sponsors Climate Change and Wildlife Health Workshop
On January 7-9, 2020, the USGS Northeast Climate Adaption Science Center and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center sponsored a Climate Change and Wildlife Health workshop in Madison, Wisconsin for Federal, State, and Tribal wildlife managers and policy makers, university and wildlife...
Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center
Date published: October 21, 2019
Project Examines Emerging Challenges Related to Climate Change, Disease, and Wildlife Health
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center, in partnership with the USGS Climate Adaptation Science Center Network, is leading a one-year project to understand and prepare for emerging challenges related to fish and wildlife health, disease, and climate change across North America.
Date published: January 23, 2015
USGS Statement Regarding Avian Flu Found in Washington State Green-Winged Teal
Some media are reporting that the Asian H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza has now entered the United States. This is incorrect.
Attribution: Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center