Scientists Zero In on the Novel Coronavirus’s Incubation Period

Recent announcements from Chinese officials and German doctors suggest that some patients may spread 2019-nCoV during its incubation period, which may last up to 14 days before symptoms emerge.

Written byEmma Yasinski

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Update (February 5): Health officials in Germany say the evidence reported in the New England Journal of Medicine around a case of asymptomatic transmission is inaccurate, and that the patient did indeed feel sick at the time she spread the virus.

Last weekend, Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission, announced that researchers believe the viral incubation period—the time it takes for an infected person to develop symptoms—could last up to 14 days for infections of the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. Xiaowei also said it appeared that at least some patients could transmit the virus during that time. Then yesterday (January 30), physicians described a case in The New England Journal of Medicine of a patient in Germany who apparently caught the virus from a business partner visiting from Shanghai while she was asymptomatic.

These revelations raise the possibility that people could spread the virus long ...

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Meet the Author

Emma Yasinski
Emma is a Florida-based freelance journalist and regular contributor for The Scientist. A graduate of Boston University’s Science and Medical Journalism Master’s Degree program, Emma has been covering microbiology, molecular biology, neuroscience, health, and anything else that makes her wonder since 2016. She studied neuroscience in college, but even before causing a few mishaps and explosions in the chemistry lab, she knew she preferred a career in scientific reporting to one in scientific research.
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