===
Avian influenza === In 1997, after the first human outbreak of the
avian influenza H5N1 virus in
Hong Kong, Peiris turned his attention to the virus, which claimed the lives of a third of its victims. Research in his group showed that the virus induces a high level of
cytokines when a type of
white blood cell called
macrophage is infected. This so-called "
cytokine storm" is now recognized as a major mechanism of avian influenza virus pathogenesis. ===
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) === In 2003,
Hong Kong suffered another
viral disease outbreak, this time an unknown
respiratory disease, termed
severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Peiris became known worldwide when his group became the first to isolate the virus that causes this disease, a
novel coronavirus now known as
SARS-CoV-1. By June 2003, Peiris, together with his long-time collaborators
Leo Poon and
Guan Yi, has developed a rapid
diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-1 using
real-time polymerase chain reaction.
COVID-19 In February 2020, Peiris published an article in
Nature Medicine, presaging the
COVID-19 pandemic. Peiris reported the next month that a
Pomeranian dog was infected with
COVID-19. This was later substantiated by other COVID-19
animal infection cases across the world, including a
tiger at the
Bronx Zoo and a
pug dog in
North Carolina. He and collaborators also developed a
diagnostic test for 2019-nCoV (later renamed to
SARS-CoV-2), again using
real-time polymerase chain reaction, and found that SARS-CoV-2 survives well on smooth surfaces and is susceptible to
disinfectants such as
household bleach,
ethanol and
benzalkonium chloride. == Honours and awards ==