Incubation Period for Malaria

QUESTION:

What is the incubation period of malaria?

ANSWER:

That depends on the species of malaria. Plasmodium falciparum has the shortest incubation time, typically 10 to 14 days. For P. vivax, incubation is usually between 10 to 17 days, but can be much longer (up to a year; the longest incubation time recorded for this species was 30 years!). P. ovale has an incubation period similar to that of P. vivax, and can also be dormant for many months or even years. P. malariae is thought to have an incubatiom time of between 16-59 days.