Italian man tests positive for COVID-19, monkeypox & HIV at the same time

Agencies | Rome

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The first known instance of a person testing positive for monkeypox, Covid-19, and HIV at the same time has been documented by scientists. Nine days after returning from a trip to Spain, where he had unprotected intercourse, the patient, a 36-year-old Italian man, began to experience a number of symptoms, including exhaustion, fever, and a sore throat.

A case study report released in the Journal of Infection states that he initially tested positive for Covid on July 2. The man's face, glutes, lower limbs, and torso all developed tiny, painful vesicles the next day.

When the vesicles turned into pustules, which are little skin bumps, on July 5th, the man drove himself to a hospital in Palermo. There, he was tested for monkeypox and subsequently returned a positive result.

The patient underwent repeated STI screenings as well. According to the researchers, given his intact CD4 count and HIV-1 positivity test results, "we may presume that the infection was reasonably recent."

In September of last year, the patient underwent an HIV test, and the results were negative. The patient was released from the hospital on July 11 and placed in home isolation after getting over his case of Covid-19 and monkeypox.

His skin sores had crusted over and healed by this point, leaving a faint scar. According to the researchers, there is still insufficient proof that the combination of the monkeypox virus, SARS-CoV-2, and HIV could worsen the patient's condition because this is the only known example of co-infection.

Healthcare systems must be prepared for this possibility given the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 epidemic and the daily rise in cases of monkeypox.