The Incubation period is the time span between the Infection with a pathogen and the Appearance of the first symptoms.
Important points:
- The duration of the incubation period varies greatly depending on the disease:
- Flu (influenza): mostly 1-2 days
- HIV: Weeks to months until the first signs of illness can appear
- Hepatitis A: about 2-6 weeks
- During the incubation period, a person can often already contagious even if she still feels healthy.
