Patient with monkeypox, undiagnosed HIV, suffers rotting nose

In a bizarre case, a monkeypox patient’s nose began to rot after he was diagnosed with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), according to a report in Newsweek.

The case was reported from Germany when the 40-year-old man visited the doctor with a red spot on the tip of his nose.

It was initially dismissed as sunburn but the man’s condition later worsened after which tests were conducted and he was diagnosed with HIV due to which his nose had developed necrosis, the outlet further said.

The image of the man’s nose shocked medical practitioners across the world. His case has also been published in journal Infection. The identity of the man has not been revealed.

Three days after he visited the healthcare provider, the skin on the man’s nose started to die and turned black due to necrosis – the death of body tissue due to infection – Australia-based 7News said in a report. It left him with a huge, swollen scab, the outlet further said.

Soon, his entire body was filled with white pus-filled blisters.

The man was immediately asked to undergo a PCR test, which confirmed the monkeypox infection. Further tests revealed the man also had undiagnosed syphilis and HIV, said 7News.

The German was put on intense medication, which caused his lesions to dry out but his nose only “partially improved”, the outlet further said, quoting healthcare professionals.

In the journal, the doctors said that the man’s case became so severe because untreated HIV had left him immunocompromised, thereby putting him at risk of necrosis.

The health experts also acknowledged that this was a rare case.

“Most cases of (monkeypox) infection so far have been reported as mild, and controlled HIV infection does not appear to be a risk factor for severe courses.

However, this case illustrates the potential severity of (monkeypox) infection in the setting of severe immunosuppression and untreated HIV infection,” the doctors are quoted as saying in the research paper published in journal Infection.

The monkeypox virus usually spreads through close physical contact, including sexual contact, with an infected individual.

In July 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared monkeypox a global health emergency.