Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

According to a new study, “The incubation period of Covid-19, which is the time after which those infected with the novel coronavirus start showing the first symptoms, could be as much as eight days longer than previous estimates of four to five days”.

The research findings have been published in the Journal Science Advances. In the study, researchers first identified pre-symptomatic people at their time of departure from Wuhan which is the epicentre of Covid-19 pandemic. These individuals then were checked until the time their symptoms began to develop. About 1,084 individuals were studied in the research.

According to the research scientists, the prevailing estimates that it takes four to five days for the symptoms to develop were based on small sample sizes, limited data, and self-reports which are likely to be biased by the memory or judgement of the patient or interviewer.

Scientists said, “The method (used in the new study) has better accuracy by relying on a public database of dates of infection, and uses statistical methods to reduce recall bias the inaccurate recollection of past events”.

According to the researchers, the average incubation period is 7.75 days. They also reported that 10 per cent of the sample size of the study was found to have an incubation period of 14.28 days.

They commented, “The findings may concern health authorities relying on the standard 14-day quarantine, but cautioned that their approach relies on several assumptions and may not apply to later cases in different parts of the world where the virus may have mutated.”

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