According to an American study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal, the incubation period of COVID-19 is much shorter than was initially reported when the epidemic emerged two months ago. Explanations.
How many days of incubation?
As the number of 4,000 victims has just been surpassed and there are over 100,000 confirmed cases, a study reveals the incubation period of the coronavirus. In other words, how long does it take from the moment the virus is contracted to when the first symptoms appear. Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal, the study provides more precise information about the number of days.
To conduct their investigation, researchers from the American Johns Hopkins University tracked 181 patients who contracted COVID-19 between January 4th and February 24th. One characteristic of the individuals who participated in the study is that they were all located outside the Hubei province, where the virus first appeared. Nevertheless, most patients had “recent travel history or residence in Wuhan, or evidence of contact with infected individuals,” reports LCI.
The first symptoms appear after five days
The study revealed that half of the participants presented the first symptoms (fever, dry cough, cold) less than 5 days after being infected, while the other half took more than 5 days. Only a few isolated cases took nearly two weeks before experiencing symptoms. Once the data was collected, the scientists were able to calculate an average incubation period.
According to the researchers, the median incubation period is 5.1 days. This duration is not at all related to the one announced at the beginning of the epidemic. Indeed, it was then estimated at 14 days or more. The study estimates that 97.5% of patients will show symptoms within 11.5 days after coronavirus exposure.
Furthermore, out of the 10,000 patients who were quarantined, only 101 showed symptoms afterward. Consequently, the two-week confinement period seems to be a completely justified duration.
