Does SARS‐CoV‐2 has a longer incubation period than SARS and MERS?

• Published in: Journal of medical virology Vol. 92; no. 5; pp. 476 - 478
• Main Authors: Jiang, Xuan, Rayner, Simon, Luo, Min‐Hua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.05.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Annotations; Basic Reproduction Number; Betacoronavirus - pathogenicity; China; Comparative analysis; Coronaviridae; coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - pathology; Coronavirus Infections - transmission; Coronavirus Infections - virology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Datasets; Datasets as Topic; Epidemics; Etiology; Humans; incubation; Infectious Disease Incubation Period; local infection/replication/spread; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus - pathogenicity; Outbreaks; pandemic; Pneumonia, Viral - pathology; Pneumonia, Viral - transmission; Pneumonia, Viral - virology; Respiratory diseases; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - pathology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus - pathogenicity; Statistical analysis; Time Factors; Virology; virulence; Virus Latency; Viruses; China; coronavirus; virulence; pandemic; local infection/replication/spread; incubation
• ISSN: 0146-6615; 1096-9071; 1096-9071
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.25708

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) since December 2019 in Wuhan, the major transportation hub in central China, became an emergency of major international concern. While several etiological studies have begun to reveal the specific biological features of this virus, the epidemic characteristics need to be elucidated. Notably, a long incubation time was reported to be associated with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, leading to adjustments in screening and control policies. To avoid the risk of virus spread, all potentially exposed subjects are required to be isolated for 14 days, which is the longest predicted incubation time. However, based on our analysis of a larger dataset available so far, we find there is no observable difference between the incubation time for SARS‐CoV‐2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV), and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐CoV), highlighting the need for larger and well‐annotated datasets. Highlights It is unclear whether there are statistically significant differences in incubation times amongst SARS‐CoV‐2, SARS‐CoV and MERS‐CoV. However, this is because: 1) Limited available data challenges investigation of the current coronavirus outbreak. 2) Lack of annotation also makes it difficult to identify and consolidate the datasets. Thus, care should be taken when selecting datasets for comparative analysis with other viruses or outbreaks.