 [ Symptoms ] i have been experiencing pain which never goes away [ Disease ] bronchitis is not contagious but the respiratory virus that most likely caused it can be most clinicians do not use antibiotic to treat it unless it was felt there is a bacterial component or underlying respiratory condition that warrants it exposure to this virus does not necessarily mean that you will get bronchitis you may just get a cold or nothing at all respiratory viruses can have an incubation period as short as 12 24 hours