According to one report, monkeypox patients have a higher than expected rate of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). new report By the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HIV-positive individuals diagnosed with monkeypox were hospitalized more frequently than those without. HIV infectionbut it’s not known whether this is a result of the more serious monkeypox disease, the study’s authors noted.
“The increasing prevalence of HIV among monkeypox patients over time suggests that monkeypox may increasingly be transmitted among networks of HIV-infected individuals,” they wrote. ing.
As of September 8, there were over 21,500 monkeypox cases in the United States, accounting for approximately 38% of the world’s cases. Monkeypox primarily infects men who have male-to-male sex and is transmitted through close physical contact or contact with materials that may contain the virus, such as sheets and towels.
new Weekly reports of morbidity and mortality published last week, CDC researchers analyzed health data from eight jurisdictions that matched probable or confirmed monkeypox cases diagnosed by July 22 with local HIV and STI surveillance data. He identified the majority (96%) of the study cohort as male, and only 10 of them responded that they were assigned female at birth. Of the approximately 2000 people included in the analysis, 38% had HIV and 41% had at least one of her other reportable STIs in the past year. HIV prevalence was higher in older adults, with 59% of those aged 55 and older being positive, compared with 21% of adults aged 18-24. Black and Hispanic individuals who participated in the analysis had higher rates of HIV infection than did whites and Asians.
More than 90% of HIV-infected individuals analyzed had received HIV care in the previous year, and 82% were virally suppressed (defined as HIV viral load <200 copies/mL). Compared with HIV-uninfected monkeypox patients, those infected with the HIV virus were more likely to report rectal pain or bleeding, tenesmus, proctitis, and purulent or bloody stools. The authors stated that rectal symptoms were not altered by HIV immune status, suggesting that the higher prevalence of symptoms in HIV patients could be explained by differences in the sites of exposure. In previous monkeypox studies that were conducted, individuals who reported receptive anal sex had a higher incidence of proctitis and systemic proctitis before the rash appeared.
HIV-positive people were more likely to be hospitalized than uninfected people (8% vs. 3%). Previous monkeypox outbreaks in Nigeria have shown poor clinical outcomes of monkeypox in HIV-infected individuals, but it is unclear whether the hospitalizations captured in this analysis were due to more severe monkeypox illness.
The high prevalence of HIV among monkeypox patients is likely because the monkeypox virus spreads through sexual networks, says Ina, a professor of community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and an STI expert. Park, M.D., said in the following interview. Medscape Medical NewsShe was not involved in the research;
“I don’t think HIV makes you more likely to get monkeypox,” she said, especially if someone has HIV under good control. Park and the study authors agree that it may be contributing to the rising prevalence of HIV in this population.
“Referral bias may partly explain these findings. People with signs and symptoms of monkeypox and who have established links to HIV or sexual health providers are more likely to seek treatment. Because it can be more likely, ”the authors wrote. Get tested for monkeypox virus. ”
The findings suggest that monkeypox infection, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections are closely linked, and that providers of monkeypox testing should also screen for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. says Park. “This is an opportunity to provide comprehensive sexual health care, not just monkeypox testing and treatment,” she said.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly RepPublished online on September 9, 2022. full text
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