Fox News’ John Roberts Hospitalized with ‘Severe’ Malaria After ‘Uncontrolled Shivering’ On-Air (Exclusive)

“I had been hurting from the top of my head to the tip of my toes,” he tells PEOPLE

Fox News anchor John Roberts is currently battling a severe case of malaria.

The 68-year-old opened up to PEOPLE about his health scare and said he was diagnosed with the parasitic mosquito-borne illness on Monday, Aug. 25.

“I had been hurting from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. Literally everywhere. I was also beset with uncontrolled shivering all during my show,” he tells PEOPLE. “Initially, I thought it was just muscle cramps and aches. But when I started shivering, I started to lean toward the flu.”

Once hospitalized, Roberts received the official diagnosis. “I thought, ‘Of course you have malaria… You never do anything in small measures.’ But I was a little scared,” he admits. “Malaria can be deadly if left unchecked.”

“I don’t know exactly how ‘severe’ it was from a medical classification, but it sure felt severe,” he adds. “I have never felt that sick in my life.”

Roberts believes he contracted the disease while on vacation in Indonesia, spending two weeks there before returning early August. Though he doesn’t remember being bitten, he started feeling sick about 10 days after returning home.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease, most commonly contracted in tropical or subtropical countries. Those who contract it tend to experience fever, headache, chills, muscle aches and fatigue, as well as gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms tend to appear within one week to one month of exposure.

Most malaria cases diagnosed in the U.S. come from patients who caught the disease elsewhere and brought it back stateside. There are approximately 2,000 cases of malaria diagnosed every year in the U.S.

While hospitalized, Roberts has been treated with IV artesunate — the first-line treatment for severe malaria in the United States — which he calls a “big gun” for getting rid of parasites.

Now, he tells PEOPLE that he’s been feeling “up and down” throughout his recovery.

“Yesterday [Aug. 27] was a down day,” he admits. “I felt horrible all day. I also have wild swings in temperature every hour. I’ll be shivering and shaking like a leaf… the next I’ll be sweating.”

The news anchor hopes to be discharged from the hospital soon and return to work on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

When he first announced his diagnosis on social media, Roberts thanked Trace Gallagher for filling in his seat as Sandra Smith’s co-anchor on America Reports.

“I somehow came down with a severe case of Malaria,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I can honestly say that I am the only person in the hospital with Malaria. In fact, one of my doctors said I’m the first case he has ever seen. Thanks to the folks at  @InovaHealth for their expertise and compassion…!”