![]() ![]() Nevertheless, it varies from pathogen to pathogen.ĭifferent stages of infection have been depicted figuratively in Figure 1 for better understanding. So now the question arises, how long are viral infections contagious? Usually, a period of 2 weeks is considered to be contagious. The host may transmit infection at any stage of infection however, it may differ from pathogen to pathogen. Each pathogenic organism undergoes the stages of incubation in the host. Hence, in this stage, the manifestation of clinical symptoms occurs, i.e., at the incubation period disease is symptomatic. This particular period characterizes or defines the ‘incubation period’ (also referred to as the ‘incubation stage of infection’). So, what is “incubation period”? In this context, the meaning of incubation period is the duration between exposure to the pathogen and the onset of symptoms. The time between exposure and infection is known as the ‘ latent period.’ In the latency period, the clinical symptoms are not manifested. The disease may be classified as ‘ symptomatic‘ and ‘asymptomatic’ at this stage. However, the infection may be diagnosed with the help of laboratory diagnostic tests. Although, at this stage, the clinical symptoms of the disease may not be present. Once the pathogen starts multiplying, the body’s immune system gets activated. For example, the liver is the site for the multiplication of the hepatitis virus and the COVID-19 virus multiplies in the lungs. After the exposure, the pathogen will get transferred to the organ or tissue in the body where the conditions for its survival are optimum, and it can multiply to establish the infection. The infection in the body is initiated by the entry of the pathogen, which is defined as ‘ exposure‘. Stage 4- Convalescence period of infectionĪs per the time, different stages of infection can be defined, and these stages are characteristic of an epidemiologic infectious disease. ![]()
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