It may or may not have some basis for a “kennel of truth”. Keep in mind the fever can be due to the body’s response to an infection by increasing the production of disease fighting cells and dilating the blood vessels, so these infection fighting cells and antibodies can get to the site of the infection. Also due to the enlargement, the blood vessels become leaky, allowing those infection fighting cells and antibodies to enter what is called the interstial tissue space. Viruses and bacteria may or may not have narrow or optimal ranges of temperature, in which they thrive. Outside of these ranges, it may or may be lethal to the organism, but may simply have an effect on the speed at which they replicate. In fact some agents will replicate faster as the temperature increases, but once they reach certain threshold, will then die.

Many organism produce chemicals called pyrogenes, which in of themselves can induce fever. Whether in doing so, these organisms are inducing the body to increase the core temperature for better growth conditions or not, is not totally understood. However, if this is the case, then reducing the body’s core temperature through the use of medication, may decrease the ability of the organism to induce disease.

Pete