10 Symptoms of Malaria
Symptom #2: Fever and Chills
Fever and chills are normally the first signs that you have contracted malaria. Fever occurs when body temperature rises significantly (100.4 oF) above the normal 98.6o F, or 37o C. This rise in temperature is caused by the activity of the body’s defense mechanism in an attempt to destroy the invading parasites. Malaria can lead to a high fever in which the body temperature rises by one or more degrees Celsius.
Once the body temperature rises, the homeostatic mechanism kicks in to cool the body to normal. This leads to a drastic reduction in internal temperature which causes chills. Bouts of fever, chills, and sweats (paroxysms) occur interchangeably every 48 or 72 hours, depending on the species. The classic paroxysm begins with chills (1-2 hours), followed by a high fever and end with a decrease in body temperature to normal or below normal.
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