COVID-19 may have longer incubation period of eight days, scientists say
Beijing: The incubation period of COVID-19, which is the time after which those infected with the novel coronavirus start showing the first symptoms, could be as much as eight days -- longer than previous estimates of four to five days says a new study which involved the largest amount of patient samples to date in such an analysis.
The research, published in the journal Science Advances, identified pre-symptomatic individuals at their time of departure from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the COVID-19 pandemic originated, and then followed these infected people until their symptoms developed.
According to the scientists, including Chong You from Peking University in China, the existing estimates of four to five days for the incubation period were based on small samples sizes, limited data, and self-reports that could be biased by the memory or judgement of the patient or interviewer.
In the current study, they developed a low-cost approach to estimate incubation periods, and applied it to 1,084 confirmed cases of COVID-19 that had known histories of travel or residency in Wuhan.
The method has better accuracy by relying on a public database of dates of infection, and uses statistical methods to reduce recall bias -- the inaccurate recollection of past events, the scientists said.
Using the new approach, the researchers calculated that the average incubation period was 7.75 days, with 10 percent of the patients showing an incubation period of 14.28 days.
They said the findings may concern health authorities relying on the standard 14-day quarantine, but cautioned that their approach relies on several assumptions and may not apply to later cases in different parts of the world where the virus may have mutated.
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3 US troops killed, 5 seriously wounded during Iran attacks, military says
Washington (AP): Three American service members have been killed and five others seriously wounded during the US attacks on Iran, the military said Sunday, marking the first American casualties in a major offensive that has sparked retaliation from the Islamic Republic.
US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, announced the deaths in a post on X but did not say when and where they occurred. The statement said “several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions” and were going to return to duty.
Central Command described the situation “as fluid” and said it would withhold the identities of the service members who were killed for 24 hours after their families were notified.
The US military also denied Iranian claims that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was struck with ballistic missiles, saying on X that the “missiles launched didn't even come close.”
President Donald Trump had warned that American troops could be killed or injured in the operation.
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,” the Republican president said in a video address released early Saturday. “That often happens in war. But we're doing this not for now. We're doing this for the future.”
Following the US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other leaders, Iran's counterattacks have struck US bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever targeting Israeli and American military installations.
Before the strikes, Trump had built up the largest US military presence in the Middle East in decades. The arrival of the Lincoln and three accompanying guided-missile destroyers at the end of January bolstered the number of warships in the region.
The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and four accompanying destroyers later were dispatched from the Caribbean Sea to head to the Middle East.
The Ford was part of the US raid in Venezuela that captured leader Nicolás Maduro, who was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges. The operation in January claimed no American lives but left seven US troops with gunshot wounds and shrapnel-related injuries.
One of those injured received the Medal of Honor during Trump's State of the Union address last week. Trump said Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover piloted the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter that descended on the “heavily protected military fortress” where Maduro was staying.
Trump has launched several military operations during his second term, including strikes on members of the Islamic State group in Syria in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two US troops and an American civilian interpreter in December.
The US military has also struck IS forces in Nigeria, after Trump accused the West African country's government of failing to rein in the targeting of Christians.
