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> This is why the original article states its impact conservatively as "This model may serve as an early check for dengue vaccine candidates, limiting the risk

> This is why the original article states its impact conservatively as "This model may serve as an early check for dengue vaccine candidates, limiting the risk of conducting large unsuccessful trials" You're obviously much more familiar with this subject, but doesn't the quote from the original article refer to the testing model itself (i.e. "dengue human challenge model"), rather than the efficacy of the actual vaccine? > this is a classic example of a downstream news report editorializing the headline and misrepresenting the implications of the original article. To be fair, it doesn't seem like Wired has editorialized/misrepresented at least the headline much relative to the original article ("The live attenuated dengue vaccine TV003 elicits complete protection against dengue in a human challenge model" vs "Dengue fever vaccine proves 100% effective in human trials"). > I believe that a vaccine that works against dengue will probably be found within our lifetimes and prevent millions of deaths per year I tried finding estimates of infections and deaths per year, but didn't find any that are close to millions/year. Do you have a source for that? The closest I got was from the CDC/WHO: The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 50 to 100 million infections occur yearly, including 500,000 DHF cases and 22,000 deaths, mostly among children. [0] [0] http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/epidemiology/ http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/epidemiology/

pak 11y ago
> doesn't the quote from the original article refer to the testing model itself Yes, it does, precisely because the trial is about a human challenge model that uses an attenuated virus. It may or may not be representative of efficacy against natural infections by wildtype viruses, hence the second statement by the authors that "the true efficacy of TV003 can only be established by performing a phase 3 trial in endemic areas." > it doesn't seem like Wired has editorialized/misrepresented at least the headline much relative to the original article I believe the inclusion of "in a human challenge model" in the original title is quite significant to its interpretation, but it's precisely the kind of detail that would get overlooked by people unfamiliar with vaccine trials. A researcher in the field would know that human challenge models may or may not be representative of protection against natural infections, but the Wired title ignores that distinction and instead sows confusion by saying the vaccine simply "proves 100% effective". > millions/year You're right, I meant hospitalizations; sorry about that. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a life-threatening condition that warrants hospitalization, and dengue fever in more vulnerable patients also can result in hospitalization.
- runesoerensen 11y ago
  Alright thanks for clarifying!

pak 11y ago

> doesn't the quote from the original article refer to the testing model itself Yes, it does, precisely because the trial is about a human challenge model that uses an attenuated virus. It may or may not be representative of efficacy against natural infections by wildtype viruses, hence the second statement by the authors that "the true efficacy of TV003 can only be established by performing a phase 3 trial in endemic areas." > it doesn't seem like Wired has editorialized/misrepresented at least the headline much relative to the original article I believe the inclusion of "in a human challenge model" in the original title is quite significant to its interpretation, but it's precisely the kind of detail that would get overlooked by people unfamiliar with vaccine trials. A researcher in the field would know that human challenge models may or may not be representative of protection against natural infections, but the Wired title ignores that distinction and instead sows confusion by saying the vaccine simply "proves 100% effective". > millions/year You're right, I meant hospitalizations; sorry about that. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a life-threatening condition that warrants hospitalization, and dengue fever in more vulnerable patients also can result in hospitalization.

runesoerensen 11y ago
Alright thanks for clarifying!