Viral load vs. fever

People afflicted with viral infections commonly take antipyretics (fever-reducing medicine) and go about their daily business as best they can. However, a positive correlation between body temperature and viral load was measured for influenza, and the period of viral shedding coincides with the period of fever. Do fever-reducers help spread disease by increasing the mobility of infectious individuals?

The viral load increases a thousandfold for each degree Fahrenheit [1] (the fraction of patients who took antipyretics was not stated).

For children, acetaminophen was shown to lower fever by over 2 °F [2].

In a study of influenza spread [3], viral load (graphs A & C below) and fever (G) coincided. More generally, the study shows the altruistic reason to stay home when experiencing symptoms (E) of a respiratory infection: Especially with over-the-counter medicines, symptomatic individuals can often function as normal, but they are likely to spread disease while doing so.

References:

1. Brian McKay, Mark Ebell, Wesley Zane Billings, Ariella Perry Dale, Ye Shen, Andreas Handel, Associations Between Relative Viral Load at Diagnosis and Influenza A Symptoms and Recovery, Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Volume 7, Issue 11, November 2020

2. Yaffe SJ. Comparative Efficacy of Aspirin and Acetaminophen in the Reduction of Fever in Children. Arch Intern Med. 1981;141(3):286–292.

3. Lincoln L. H. Lau, Benjamin J. Cowling, Vicky J. Fang, Kwok-Hung Chan, Eric H. Y. Lau, Marc Lipsitch, Calvin K. Y. Cheng, Peter M. Houck, Timothy M. Uyeki, J. S. Malik Peiris, Gabriel M. Leung, Viral Shedding and Clinical Illness in Naturally Acquired Influenza Virus Infections, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 201, Issue 10, 15 May 2010, Pages 1509–1516

Please keep comments on topic.