Puhkeaega

Puhkeaega, or incubation period, is the interval between exposure to an infectious agent and the onset of symptoms in an individual. It is a property of the disease and the host, and can vary widely between diseases and even between people.

The duration depends on the pathogen, the infectious dose, the route of exposure, and host factors such as age and immune status. It is not a fixed value for a given disease, and predictions for any single person are uncertain.

Puhkeaega differs from the infectious period, which is when a person can transmit the pathogen to others. In some infections, transmission may occur before symptoms appear (pre-symptomatic) or after symptoms begin. The incubation period is typically described as a range or a statistical distribution, rather than a precise moment.

In public health, the maximum incubation period is used to define exposure windows and quarantine durations, and the median or mean may inform modeling of outbreak dynamics.

Examples of typical ranges for common diseases include:

- Measles: 10–12 days

- Varicella (chickenpox): 13–17 days

- Influenza: 1–4 days

- Norovirus: 12–48 hours

- SARS-CoV-2 infection: 2–14 days

Understanding puhkeaega helps assess risk, guide testing timing, and determine appropriate public health responses during outbreaks.