New global standard harmonizes dengue trial outcomes
A world-first global standard for measuring outcomes in dengue treatment trials has been published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases this week. Co-led by researchers at King’s College London and the University of Oxford, the work resolves a long-standing inconsistency in what is evaluated and reported across dengue clinical studies.
The standard is the product of the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) program, which brings together researchers, clinicians, and people with lived experience of dengue. By aligning the outcomes used in trials, the new framework enables faster, more accurate comparisons across studies and supports regulators and guideline developers in making evidence-based decisions.
Why this matters for dengue research
Dengue is a rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease with a substantial global burden. Half of the world’s population is at risk, and recent years have seen a rise in locally acquired cases in Europe—a trend linked to climate change, urbanisation, and increasing transmission by Aedes mosquitoes. Despite extensive research activity, there are currently no specific antiviral treatments for dengue, so trials evaluating potential therapies are crucial. Until now, disparate outcome measures across trials hinder reliable data synthesis and slow the path to effective interventions.
By establishing a single, globally applicable set of outcomes, the new standard addresses these barriers. Regulators benefit from clearer, comparable evidence when assessing new drugs or interventions, while researchers gain a consistent framework for designing and analysing trials. This coherence is designed to accelerate the development of dengue therapeutics and help translate study results into practical clinical guidance.
How the standard was developed
The initiative drew together contributors from 36 countries and included active involvement from people with lived dengue experience, ensuring the outcomes reflect patient priorities alongside clinical relevance. The collaborative process balanced patient-centred perspectives with the needs of researchers and policymakers, producing an outcome scale grounded in real-world impact.
Daniel Munblit, a corresponding author and reader in pediatrics at King’s College London, emphasised the significance of the consensus: “This is a major step forward for the dengue therapeutics field, bringing together global agreement on the most clinically meaningful outcomes.”
Sophie Yacoub, a corresponding author at the University of Oxford, added: “Bringing together a global consensus on clinically relevant outcomes to be measured in all future dengue clinical trials is transformative for the field.”
Implications for the future of dengue trials
The standard is expected to streamline trial design and reporting, making it easier to pool data and perform meta-analyses. For clinicians, it translates into clearer evidence on what difference a new therapy makes in patient recovery, complications, and longer-term health outcomes. For patients and communities, harmonised outcomes strengthen the evidence base that underpins treatment guidelines and public health strategies.
Laura Merson, Head of Data at ISARIC and Head of Clinical Research at the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, highlighted the broader impact: “Harmonising outcomes across dengue trials strengthens both the quality of each study and the scientific value of the data generated. Initiatives like this support the World Health Organization’s efforts to advance clinical trials globally.”
As dengue continues to spread due to climate and demographic shifts, the demand for credible, comparable evidence is more urgent than ever. The Lancet Infectious Diseases publication marks a pivotal step toward a future where trial results are easier to compare, interpret, and apply to save lives.
