Let It Burn

There are benefits to having a fever

It’s not just humans that spike fevers when they’re sick. Fish, reptiles, and other mammals—like rabbits and dogs—get fevers as well.

When I was about 12 years old, my father’s best friend told me that medical science hadn’t found any reason that humans get fevers. My dad’s friend, Rick Sullivan, M.D., was an emergency room doctor based in Cambridge, Mas…