Studies on monkeypox in the south of Gran Canaria have brought to light a case: the first patient who arrived in Italy from Gran Canaria contracted monkeypox, HIV and Covid19 at the same time. The 36-year-old man had had unprotected sexual relations with other men during his last trip to the south of the island in connection with a mass event on the LGBT business. At the end of August in the Canary Islands, the health alert pointed to 158 confirmed cases, of which 91 were detected in Gran Canaria, 61 in Tenerife, four in Fuerteventura, one in La Palma and another in Lanzarote. Those numbers may have increased.
The analyzes have been conclusive: the sick Italian contracted everything at the same time. Approximately 9 days after returning to Italy, after having sexual relations with men without a condom, the patient experienced symptoms such as fever, sore throat, fatigue, headache and swelling in the groin area. To describe this case of co-infection, the first reported in the scientific literature, are researchers from the Rodolico-San Marco University and Policlinic of Catania, together with colleagues from the Giaccone Policlinic of Palermo, in an article in the Journal of Infection to which they have Maspalomas24H had access.
The 36-year-old man tested positive for coronavirus 3 days after his symptoms appeared. Shortly after, a rash appeared on his left arm and in the following days blisters spread all over his body, which led him to go to the emergency room of a hospital in Catania. Here he tested positive for monkeypox and HIV (the latter contracted recently, given the negative result of the same test less than a year ago). The patient was discharged from the hospital after almost a week and recovered from Covid and monkeypox, although he was left with a small scar. The man also suffers from bipolar disorder and regularly takes medication for it.
"This case highlights how the symptoms of monkeypox and Covid can overlap and confirms that, in the case of co-infection, anamnestic collection and sexual habits are crucial to making the correct diagnosis," say the researchers from the University of Catania in his clinical case. "The monkeypox oropharyngeal swab was still positive after 20 days, suggesting that these individuals may still be contagious for several days after clinical remission," the study notes. "Consequently, physicians should encourage appropriate precautions." The researchers added that this is the only reported case of co-infection with monkeypox virus, SARS-CoV-2 and HIV, "there is still insufficient evidence to support that this combination could aggravate the patient's condition." The scientific report notes that "given the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the daily increase in monkeypox cases, health systems should be aware of this possibility."