First HIV, Monkeypox, SARS-CoV-2 Coinfection Confirmed

A new Letter presented the clinical features and diagnostic procedure of the first documented case of co-infection with monkeypox virus, SARS-CoV-2, and HIV-1 in an Italian 36-year-old male.

Published on August 19, 2022, by the peer-review Journal of Infection, this case highlights how monkeypox disease and COVID-19 symptoms may overlap and corroborates how in case of co-infection, anamnestic collection and sexual habits are crucial to perform the correct diagnosis.

In fact, our patient tested positive for HIV-1 with a viral load of 234,000 copies/mL, and given his preserved CD4 count, which was unaltered with 812 cells/μL, we could assume that the infection was relatively recent.

However, as this is the only reported case of monkeypox virus, SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and HIV co-infection, there is still not enough evidence supporting that this combination may aggravate a patient's condition.