Italian Man Is First Patient to Simultaneously Get COVID-19, Monkeypox, HIV

Researchers have recently reported the first identified case of an Italian man who tested positive for COVID-19, monkeypox, and HIV all at the same time.

As specified in an Interesting Engineering report, the 36-year-old patient experienced sore throat, fever, and fatigue.

The incident specified that the patient developed the said symptoms after he returned from a trip to Spain earlier this summer, where he engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse, a key risk of transmission for HIV.

Researchers reported in the journal where the case was published that upon admission, the patient reported he was undergoing treatment for syphilis in 2019.

3-in-1 Infection

In September 2021, the man conducted an HIV test and had a negative result. He experienced bipolar disorder, for which he regularly took 200 milligrams of carbamazepine every day.

In their research published in the Journal of Infection, the study authors wrote the man was vaccinated for COVID-19 with two doses of Pfizer vaccine with his last inoculation in December 2021 and had already developed COVID-19 early this year.

First, he received a positive test for coronavirus in early July, and the next day, lesions and rash appeared on his face, glutes, torso, and lower limbs.

In early July, the rash had continued spreading. And that's when he sought treatment at an Italian hospital, where doctors revealed that he had contracted the monkeypox virus.

The doctors tested him further for sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV infection tests, and he returned positive.

Simultaneous Tests for the Diseases with Positive Results

The occurrence marks the first time the three diseases have been diagnosed in one patient simultaneously.

The researchers noted too, that monkeypox and COVID-19 frequently have similar symptoms, which include sore throat, headache, and fever, making it difficult for doctors to conduct the correct diagnosis, also considering that not all patients who have monkeypox develop skin lesions and that COVID-19 may unusually present rash and blisters.

The researchers added that there is no particular treatment tackling all the diseases simultaneously, although they did not know if symptoms would be worse for the patient because of the co-existence of the diseases.

The study investigators advised further that doctors must consider previous sexual activity, travel history, and medical history when investigating diseases with overlapping symptoms.

The case underscores that sexual intercourse could be the dominant way of transmission. As a result, complete STI screening is recommended following a diagnosis of monkeypox.

Prevention is Better Than Treatment

Global News reported that according to studies, over 16,000 individuals in 74 countries had contracted monkeypox as of January this year, and the COVID-19 subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 were accountable for more than a million coronavirus cases each day globally.

This case of simultaneous infection of three diseases is a reminder of diligence, not just sexually but in all interactions as well, to take equal precautions against COVID-19 and monkeypox.

Undoubtedly, prevention is better than treatment, particularly in the case of HIV, which currently has no cure.

Report about this first case of simultaneously testing positive for COVID-19, Monkeypox, and HIV viruses are shown on ABC7's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Medicine & Health, COVID-19, and HIV in Science Times.