Fox News Anchor Hospitalized After Shivering On Air

Veteran Fox News anchor John Roberts is fighting through a frightening medical ordeal after being hospitalized with a severe case of malaria — a rare diagnosis for an American and a shocking turn for one of the network’s most recognizable faces.

Roberts, 68, first began feeling ill during a live broadcast on August 25. Viewers noticed him visibly shivering and struggling to power through his segment on America Reports.

“I had been hurting from the top of my head to the tip of my toes,” Roberts revealed exclusively. “Literally everywhere. Then came the uncontrolled shivering. I thought maybe it was the flu — but this was on another level.”

Roberts believes he contracted the mosquito-borne illness during a recent two-week trip to Indonesia, returning to the U.S. in early August. He doesn’t recall being bitten but began feeling sick about 10 days after arriving home.

Doctors confirmed the diagnosis after bloodwork showed dangerously low platelets and white blood cell counts. “My rheumatologist took one look and said, ‘Go to the ER now,’” Roberts recalled. “I knew right then it was serious.”

After checking into Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, specialists confirmed it was malaria — a disease that kills over 600,000 people worldwide each year but remains rare in the U.S., with roughly 2,000 cases annually.

Roberts admitted he’s “never felt this sick” in his life. “I don’t know what the medical classification of ‘severe’ technically is, but this felt severe,” he said.

Treatment began immediately with IV artesunate, the U.S. “big gun” against malaria. “This stuff is no joke. You don’t want to mess around with malaria. If you ignore it, it can turn deadly fast.”

The anchor described extreme temperature swings: “One hour I’m shaking like a leaf, the next I’m sweating through my shirt. Yesterday was rough — a real down day.”

Roberts’ co-anchor Sandra Smith praised her longtime partner’s “incredible toughness” on social media. Trace Gallagher has been filling in on America Reports during Roberts’ absence, while Fox viewers flooded X with well-wishes.

President Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, also released a statement Thursday wishing Roberts a “swift and full recovery,” calling him “a trusted voice in American journalism and a fighter through and through.”

Despite the scare, Roberts says he hopes to return to work by Tuesday, September 2 — if doctors clear him. “I can’t wait to get back,” he said. “This job keeps me going.”