Bat body temperature is 40℃, I experienced this temperature when I had a fever

Recently, because of the current situation, I realized that the average body temperature of bats is 40℃. Perhaps it is precisely because of this high temperature that bats are able to resist various viruses. While we think bats are always running a fever, bats have evolved to be normal for their own population. When I was still worrying about how bats could tolerate such high temperatures, I recalled that I had once run a high fever to this temperature, which was 1.7℃ higher than the bat body temperature. Moreover, I want to reminisce about the feeling of reaching 41.7℃ of high fever.

When I was in elementary school, I had a case of hepatitis, which I never got again after recovering. I rarely get sick, and I almost never have a fever. The highest fever I ever had was 38.7℃. Later, in the summer of 2007, I broke a record and had a fever of 41.7℃.

That year, I traveled to Afghanistan with the European Union, and I had a short-term project in a villa area. The dogs there were very aggressive. Perhaps it was because they were wary, I was bitten by a dog on the outer side of my thigh while in the kitchen at dusk. My jeans were torn, fortunately my thermal underwear was not torn, but there was bleeding on the skin. I don't know whether it was the teeth biting or the physical squeezing through the thermal underwear, the bloodstain is still visible on the scar. I still have it today

I didn't have a deep understanding of rabies at the time, and I left soon after. When I returned to China, I didn't get vaccinated. My flight from Kabul to Urumqi two weeks later revealed that I had missed the 24-hour first-shot vaccine. At that time, the doctor was also very worried and advised me to ask my colleagues in Afghanistan whether the dog that bit me had died within seven days. If it was still alive, it wouldn't be rabies. I asked another question: 'What if it's dead?' The doctor replied, 'Then you will definitely die after the incubation period'

I didn't tell my colleagues about the bite, so I contacted my colleagues in Afghanistan first. When I asked about the dog, they were curious because it was an odd question. However, it didn't matter. Fortunately, it was still alive, and the dog's inherent aggressive nature was characteristic of the breed.

In the Urumqi clinic, we confirmed that we had missed the 24-hour first-shot vaccine. I was not panicked at that time, and I still followed my original plan to travel in Urumqi for six days. Just as I was preparing to set off the next morning, I felt something was wrong. I could feel that I had a fever. I was still guessing whether it was due to time difference or the bite. Later, I learned that fever is different from the onset of rabies, so I calmed down.

Initially, I didn't go to the hospital or take medicine, I just wanted my immune system to help me resist the virus. I didn't realize that around 39℃, the fever continued to increase. What virus is causing this...

When I was 39℃, I didn't measure it, I just compared it to the 38.7℃ I had experienced before, so I estimated it. My whole body was numb, I just wanted to sleep. When I got up again, I called the front desk to let them know I was sick, asking them to order food and bring water. The service staff did their best to help me, but when I entered the room, she probably saw my condition very bad, so she helped me find a thermometer and measured my temperature in five minutes. The temperature displayed was 40℃

The delivery service kept bringing the thermometer to measure my temperature. I was unconscious, but I remember that time, I hadn't eaten anything for a whole day and didn't feel hungry or thirsty. After being woken up, I fell asleep in an instant. I could feel my breathing was like a wave of heat. The service staff bought a box of Conte's to give me, and I took it and fell asleep again

I don't know how long it took, but the service staff called me on the room phone and found no one answering. This time they brought two thermometers, one mercury and one electronic, to ensure the accuracy of the data. This time, the mercury thermometer stopped at 41.5℃, and the electronic thermometer stopped at 41.7℃

Throughout the measurement process, I was unconscious. Later, after the ambulance arrived and I recovered from the fever, the entire recovery process was also unconscious. This means that during the whole process, the most painful part was around 39℃, because I was conscious. After reaching 40℃, it was no different than being under anesthesia

The high temperature of bats is behind the super high metabolic rate of bats. Bats are conducting cell updates that are unimaginable for ordinary mammals. However, cell updates are limited, and the more times the cells update, the more DNA copies there will be, and there will inevitably be errors in the DNA copies of ordinary organisms. Bats have evolved over hundreds of millions of years with high fever that is not receding, which allows them to have a superpower to repair DNA damage. I don't know if my damaged DNA was repaired after this high fever.

Now, when I recall it, I only remember that the hotel was near the Urumqi airport, and the hotel was surrounded by many restaurants, including a Xinjiang big plate chicken specialty store. If the service staff who helped me back then could see this article, be sure to contact me, and there will be a thank you!