An Italian man is believed to be the first to be diagnosed with monkeypox, COVID-19, and HIV simultaneously.
Experts say it’s extremely rare to have COVID and monkeypox at the same time, and there are no known documented cases of people being diagnosed with all three infections at once.
A 36-year-old Italian man recently returned from a five-day trip to Spain in June 2022, according to a study published in. Journal of Infection.
More than a week after returning home, he developed fever, sore throat and headache. He also started noticing an unusual rash on his arms and body.
He was diagnosed with both COVID-19 and monkeypox after being admitted to an Italian hospital. Additional testing also revealed the presence of HIV. It is not clear exactly when he contracted each virus, but it was believed to be within a relatively recent period for all three.
The study authors said the man was also being treated for syphilis in 2019. He had his COVID-19 vaccination and had the virus in January 2022.
He is being treated for monkeypox and COVID and will have to receive concomitant antiretroviral therapy for HIV for the rest of his life.
The study authors say the case demonstrates a lesson that doctors and health care workers should test symptomatic patients for multiple viruses. The authors said there is not yet enough evidence to determine whether having all three viruses at once makes patients’ condition worse.
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