INCUBATION PERIOD

Most countries reported a median incubation period of 4-5 days, and a mean of 4-6 days. The minimum reported incubation period of 1 day was reported from China and Singapore and the maximum of 14 days was reported by China.

'Outliers' beyond a 10-day maximum incubation period are few in number and have not been subjected to rigorous and standardized investigation. Detailed investigation of “outliers” is needed before public health policy is changed to extend the incubation period beyond 10 days, as any extension of the incubation period will have considerable impact on health service practice and resources.

INFECTIOUS PERIOD

Transmission efficiency appears to be greatest from severely ill patients or those experiencing rapid clinical deterioration, usually during the second week of illness. Maximum virus excretion from the respiratory tract occurs on about day 10 of illness and then declines to 0% by day 23. 22% of stool tested peak at 100% on day 12-14 and fall to 50% on days 21-23.
There are no reports of transmission beyond 10 days of fever resolution.

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