A fever is a symptom of an underlying illness or disease, as such a fever is transmitted according to how this underlying illness or disease is transmitted.

Infections in general are most often spread between people who are in close contact, such as those who live together, or people who are exposed by kissing or sharing eating utensils or drinking glasses. In addition, infections are spread inside tiny drops of fluid that are expelled from the throat or nose of someone who is infected, for example, when they cough, sneeze, laugh, or talk. Once airborne, these drops of fluid can enter the body of another person and cause them to be infected with either meningitis or, more likely, the common infection caused by that germ.