Related Subjects:
|Fever in a traveller
|Malaria Falciparum
|Malaria Non Falciparum
|Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers (VHF)
|Lassa fever
|Dengue
|Marburg virus disease
|AIDS HIV
|Yellow fever
|Ebola Virus
|Leptospirosis
| Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever
|African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping sickness)
|American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas Disease)
|Incubation Periods
|Notifiable Diseases UK
The time between exposure and onset of clinical signs or symptoms
⏳ Timings for Incubation Periods
- Short (< 2 weeks): Malaria, Paratyphoid fever, Arboviruses (Dengue, Chikungunya), Ebola, Lassa Fever, VHFs, Enteric viruses, Meningococcaemia, Plague, African trypanosomiasis, Influenza, Anthrax, Rabies.
- Intermediate (2–6 weeks): Malaria, Leptospirosis, Typhoid fever, Rickettsioses, Brucellosis, Viral hepatitis A/E, Lyme disease, Rabies, Scabies.
- Long (> 6 weeks): Tuberculosis, Malaria (relapsing species), Viral Hepatitis B/C, Schistosomiasis, Filariasis, Amoebic liver abscess, Leishmaniasis, African Trypanosomiasis, Rabies (late).
| Disease | Incubation Period |
|---|
| Scarlet fever | 1–4 days |
| Arbovirus encephalitis | 3–14 days |
| Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever | 2–14 days |
| Leptospirosis | 7–12 days |
| SARS | < 10 days |
| Polio | 7–14 days |
| Pertussis | 7–14 days |
| 🌍 Overseas | |
|---|
| Plasmodium falciparum malaria | 6–30 days (most < 2 months) |
| Plasmodium vivax malaria | 8–30 days (most < 2 months; relapses months–years) |
| Dengue | 4–8 days |
| Smallpox | 7–17 days |
| Tetanus | 7–21 days |
| Ebola | 2–21 days |
| Typhoid | 3–21 days |
| Hepatitis A | 2–6 weeks |
| Hepatitis B | 6 weeks–6 months |
| 🦠 Common Viral | |
|---|
| Chickenpox | 14–16 days |
| Mumps | 14–18 days |
| Rubella | 14–21 days |
| Infectious mononucleosis | 28–42 days |
| Common cold | 1–5 days |
| Influenza | 1–4 days |
| Measles | 9–12 days |
| ❤️ Sexually Transmitted | |
|---|
| Syphilis | ~21 days (range 10–90 days) |
| Genital herpes | 2–14 days |
| Gonorrhoea | 3–4 days |
| HIV (acute illness) | 2–6 weeks |
| 🍽️ Gastroenteritis | |
|---|
| Norovirus | 1–3 days |
| Staph. aureus (toxin) | 1–8 hours ⏱️ |
| Shigella | 12 hours–7 days |
| Campylobacter | 2–8 days |
| E. coli O157:H7 | 1–10 days |
| Listeria | 3–20 days |
| Cholera | 3 hours–5 days |
💡 Clinical Pearl
📌 Very short incubation (<24h) → preformed toxins (Staph aureus, Bacillus cereus).
📌 Intermediate (days–weeks) → viral exanthems, enteric fevers.
📌 Long (>6 weeks) → parasites, TB, viral hepatitis B/C, HIV.
