While nearly 3,700 cases of monkeypox have been identified in France, one case study highlights complications affecting the hearts of patients affected by the disease, such as myocarditis.
- Monkey pox has infected more than 50,000 people worldwide, including 3,646 in France as of September 1, 2022.
- The epidemic does not only concern the homosexual community, since women and children have been affected by the virus.
A 31-year-old Portuguese man will be treated in a hospital in Porto when he had been presenting the characteristic symptoms of monkeypox for five days: painful pimples on the face, hands and genitals, fever, pains in all the body and intense fatigue. Quickly, the diagnosis falls: it is the virus of the smallpox of the monkey which is at the origin of its state of health. But, three days later, he returned to the emergency room with symptoms similar to heart damage.
Myocarditis, a possible complication of monkeypox
The patient is transferred to intensive care for several heart examinations. According to doctors, it is myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. Monkey pox appears to be the cause. Myocarditis has already been detected in patients with smallpox, the more virulent cousin of monkeypox.
Once the signs of myocarditis were gone, a week later in intensive care, the patient was discharged home.
“Raise awareness in the scientific community”
“This case highlights heart problems as a potential complication associated with monkeypox infection, reported Ana Isabel Pinho, a doctor in Porto and lead author of the study that shed light on this case. We believe that reporting this potential causal relationship may increase awareness in the scientific community and healthcare professionals of acute myocarditis as a possible complication associated with monkeypox; and could be useful for close monitoring of affected patients to better identify further complications in the future”.
