Types of Fever Patterns in Microbiology

Continuous fever is characterized by a temperature that stays high throughout the day with fluctuations less than 1 °C (1.5 °F) and never returns to normal. Examples include typhoid fever and gram-negative pneumonia.

Remittent fever fluctuates by more than 1 °C during the day but never returns to normal baseline. It is the most common fever pattern.

Intermittent fever rises during parts of the day or night but drops back to normal at least once every 24 hours. Examples include malaria and localized abscesses.

Hectic fever is a subtype of intermittent or remittent fever with a wide daily temperature swing of at least 1.4 °C (2 °F). It is often seen in severe bacterial infections or endocarditis.

Relapsing fever involves episodes of high fever lasting a few days, followed by normal temperature for days or weeks, then recurrence. Examples include tick- or louse-borne bacterial infections and some malaria types.