- Symptoms of COVID-19 can develop between 2 days and 2 weeks after the virus exposure.
- Incubation period for COVID-19 can range from 1-14 days, most commonly around five days.
- Fever, cough, shortness of breath and respiratory problems are the most common symptoms.
INCUBATION PERIOD OF COVID-19:
The incubation period means the phase in the development of an infection between the time a pathogen enters the body and the time when the first symptom appears.
The estimated period of incubation of COVID-19 is 2-14 days based on the following sources;
- The World Health Organisation (WHO), represents an incubation period of COVID-19 is within 2-10 days.
- China’s National Health Commission (NHC), reported an incubation period of around 10-14 days, on January 26, 2020. The Chinese online community for physicians and health care professionals, also reported the incubation period is 3-7 days up to 14 days
- The United States CDC, the estimated incubation period for COVID-19 is within 2-14 days.
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HOW LONG INCUBATION PERIOD OF COVID-19 CAN BE?
According to the article published on February 9, 2020, in which data collected from 1,099 patients with lab reports of COVID-19 from 552 hospitals in China, concluded that the incubation period can be as long as 24 days with the average incubation periOD being 3.0 days.
, WHO also said in the press conference, the long incubation period represents the double exposure of the virus.
The JAMA studies also show that period can be as long as 19 days which is long but within the reported range of 24 days.
Another case reported by Hubei Provence published on February 22, 2020, in which a 70-years-old man showed their symptoms after 27 days.
MEAN INCUBATION PERIOD OF COVID-19:
A study published on January 29, 2020, in the New England Journal of Medicine, has found the mean incubation period is 5.2 days (with a range of 4.1-7.0 ) based on data collected before January 1, but it varies from patient to patient.
Another study published by NEJM Journal Watch, in which the author studied the cases of 181 patients who were infected around January 4 to February 24, and concluded the mean incubation period is 5.1 days.
TRAVELERS INCUBATION PERIOD FROM WUHAN:
The research published on EUROSURVEILLANCE, the key epidemiological parameters, including incubation period required to determine the appropriate duration of quarantine after traveling, in which they collected data of 88 cases with known travel from or to Wuhan, China and estimated the mean incubation period to be 6.4 days with the range from 2.1-11.1 days.
INCUBATION PERIOD OF OTHER RELATED VIRUSES:
every virus has its own incubated time to show their symptoms like;
- COVID-19 ——- 2-14 days can be as long as 24 days.
- MERS ——– 5 days ( with a range of 2-14 days)
- Common flu ——- 2 days (with a range of 1-4 days)
- SARS ——— 2-7 days but can long as 10 days
- Swine flu ———1-4 days but can long as 7 days.
- Ebola virus ——– 4-10 days but long as 21 days.
GENERAL QUERIES:
Q. What should I do if I don’t know I’m infected or not?
1. Be aware of the latest information and research about COVID-19.
2. Thoroughly and regularly wash your hands and keep hand sanitizer with you.
3. Maintain at least 1 meter or 3 feet distance from out-door people.avoid touching your nose, eyes, and mouth.
4. Try to follow the guidance given by the government and Doctors.
Q. How likely the children to catch COVID-19?
How does the coronavirus disease spread?
Clean your hands often with hand sanitizer or wash
them with soap and water to protect yourself.
IMPORTANCE TO KNOW:
The understanding incubation period of certain infectious agents helps in probing disease origin. The incubation period is the time when infectious agents are multiplying and pose risk to the people around us. If you have exposed yourself to a risky environment, it is better to take precautions to minimize affecting others. Always try to take all the necessary precautions to stop the spread of virus.