Man tests positive for Monkeypox, Covid-19 and HIV after Spain trip

The 36-year-old man, who has not been identified, developed a sore throat, fever, headache and fatigue after returning to Italy

Moneycontrol News

August 25, 2022 / 17:43 IST

An Italian man has tested positive for Covid-19, Monkeypox and HIV at the same time after a trip to Spain. The first of its kind case of co-infection was reported in the Journal of Infection earlier this month.

The 36-year-old man, who has not been identified, developed a sore throat, fever, headache and fatigue after returning to Italy from his Spanish trip. The man had visited Spain for a five-day trip between June 16 and June 20, during which he engaged in unprotected sex.

All the symptoms appeared nine days after he returned from his trip. A few days later, on July 2, he tested positive for Covid-19.

On the same day, he also noticed small, painful vesicles surrounded by a rash had begun developing on his torso, arms, face and glutes. The vesicles soon grew into painful pustules and, on July 5, the man visited the emergency department at the University Hospital in Catania.

There, he was referred to the infectious disease unit and tested positive for Monkeypox.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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