Understanding and Modeling Technique
5.6 Conclusion
This chapter reviewed existing literature con- cerning the incubation period of COVID-19, one of the critical epidemiological metrics with clini- cal significance. Studies report very different incubation times of COVID-19, partly owing to the characteristics of the cohorts as well as the method of sampling. As a result, the incubation period of COVID-19 is not significantly different from that of SARS and MERS. While the travel history and the level of transmission have been found to be associated with the incubation time, the mechanism behind these observations requires further extensive research. Moreover, many other factors, such as viral load, comorbidi- ties, age, and immunosuppression, may pose as factors determining the length of the incubation period. Because of confounding relationships, existing studies remain inconclusive and more evidence is necessary for clarification. Modeling techniques have also been discussed in this chap- ter. With the presence of incomplete information, maximum likelihood estimation serves as a use- ful technique to model incubation periods by rec- ognizing the interval-censored data structure.
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