Italian researchers reported the world's first documented case in which a person was simultaneously infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus , monkeypox and the HIV virus responsible for the development of AIDS, reports the Independent .
The three viruses met in the body of a 36-year-old Italian man, whose infections were confirmed in July, but the case description by researchers at the University of Catania was published only a few days ago in the Journal of Infection :
• After the man returned from a holiday in Spain - where he had unprotected sex with other men - nine days later, the first symptoms appeared: fatigue, fever, sore throat. On July 2, he tested positive for Covid.
• The next day, blisters and rashes appeared on his body, which grew larger by July 5, so he went to a hospital, where he also tested positive for monkeypox.
• In the same place, he was tested for various sexually transmitted diseases and tested positive for HIV-1. Based on the results of his test, the researchers assume that this infection was also relatively recent. It is certain that he is not very old, because his test was still negative last fall.
• After recovering from both Covid and monkeypox, he was released to home isolation on July 11.
According to the researchers, one of the important lessons learned from the case is that the symptoms of Covid-19 and monkeypox can overlap in time, and in the case of such a double infection, the mapping of complaints, medical history and sexual habits is key to a proper diagnosis. It was also highlighted that the man's monkeypox test was still positive twenty days later, which suggests that infected people can still transmit the virus for days after the clinical symptoms disappear.
Since this is the first known case where the three viruses were present together, there is not yet enough evidence to determine whether this combination could worsen the condition of those infected.
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