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A member asked:
How early is a virus contagious?
3 doctors weighed in across 2 answers
Depends on the virus: Different viruses have different incubation periods and different times during which they are contagious.
Answered 1/20/2013
5.4k views
Depends on your view: If one views contagiousness as coming from an infected person, then the virus has to first reproduce inside that person, which takes days or many hours. If a person includes in his view transmission by a third person, then a virus can be contagious right away (such as a person touching infected and non-infected persons, without doing hand-washing in between, thus spreading the virus in no time).
Answered 12/10/2013
5.4k views
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