It all started on June 20: a 36-year-old Italian returned a little ill from his vacation in Spain. Because he suffers from flu-like symptoms (fever, sore throat, fatigue…), he decides to take a Covid-19 test a few days later: the test turns out to be positive, despite his double vaccination and the fact that he already caught the disease in January 2022.
The story could end there, but no. Because the same day, the 30-year-old began to see rashes appear on his arms: worried, he went to the emergency room of the hospital in Catania, Sicily. And there, the verdict falls: in addition to the Covid-19, the man suffers from monkeypox, a pathology which spreads mainly (but not only) in homosexual and transsexual circles.
Co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and monkeypox virus is possible
Questioned by the medical staff, the Italian explained that he had indeed had unprotected sex with men during his vacation in Spain. When in doubt, the doctors therefore decided to give him tests to identify potential sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – chlamydia, gonococcus…
When the test results came in, the man had an unpleasant surprise: in addition to Covid-19 and monkeypox, he discovered that he was infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), at the origin of AIDS…
The Italian was hospitalized for a week. In mid-July 2022, he was discharged from hospital, cured of Covid-19 and monkeypox; he must now undergo treatment for HIV. “This is the only reported case of co-infection with monkeypox virus, SARS-CoV-2 and HIVpoint out the doctors who described this unique case in the Journal of Infection. Clinicians should therefore be aware of the possibility of co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus and monkeypox virus.“
