Californian man says he caught Covid AND monkeypox at the same time
‘Incredibly bad luck’: California man says he caught COVID AND monkeypox at the same time – leaving him in excruciating pain
- Mitcho Thompson, from Sebastopol, tested positive for COVID in late June
- But days later red lesions erupted across his body, indicating monkeypox
- Thompson was bedridden for weeks with both illnesses
- Stanford University expert said it was possible to catch both at once
A man in California says he has been infected with COVID and monkeypox at the same time in the first known case in America.
Mitcho Thompson, a cannabis salesman in Sebastopol, tested positive for the pandemic virus in late June after feeling ‘wiped out’. Days later, red lesions erupted across his back, legs, arms and neck, which he said doctors diagnosed as monkeypox.
Thompson was bedridden for weeks as trouble breathing and chills left him barely able to get up for water.
Dr. Dean Winslow, an infectious diseases expert at Stanford University, said it was possible for someone to be infected by both viruses at once. He said Thompson had had ‘incredibly bad luck’.
It comes as America’s monkeypox tally surges to 2,593 cases — the second highest tally in the world, right behind Spain, which has 3,125 cases.
Mitcho Thompson, a cannabis salesman in Sebastopol, says he has been infected with COVID and monkeypox at the same time. He is pictured above at home
He tested positive for COVID in late June after feeling under the weather. But a few days later, lesions erupted across his back, legs, arms and neck, which doctors diagnosed as monkeypox
Thompson — who also has a pet cat — revealed his diagnosis with both diseases during an interview with NBC Bay Area.
He told the broadcaster: ‘The COVID was first, and that’s what made it really weird because I did not actually realize I had monkeypox until I started breaking out [in lesions].
‘The doctor was very certain that I have monkeypox and that I have both.
America still has the ‘opportunity’ to contain monkeypox, the director of the CDC has insisted as the cases tally rises to the second-highest in the world.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky claimed in an interview today the Government’s response is growing stronger every day.
She added: ‘I think we still have an opportunity to contain this.’
But her comments come as the United States recorded another 270 infections, taking its tally to 2,593.
This is the second-highest in the world, behind only Spain which has recorded more than 3,000.
America’s response to the outbreak has been slow from the outset, with the CDC taking weeks to get testing up and running.
In the early days of the outbreak it was carrying out less than 100 a day.
The federal government has also been slammed for failing to roll out vaccines quickly, which public health experts say would have helped to slow the spread of the virus.
‘That was the question, could I get them both at the same time, and he said “yes, yes, yes.” ‘
Thompson said both viruses left him feeling ‘really sick.’
‘And the worst of it was honestly was just when I could barely get out of bed, and you could barely like get a drink of water.’
A COVID infection triggers flu-like symptoms including a fever, cough, shortness of breath and muscle aches.
A monkeypox infection also triggers these warning signs in the early stages, which then develop into a rash that spreads across the body.
Thompson said he tested positive for COVID, however, ruling out the possibility that his flu-symptoms were just the result of monkeypox.
It was not clear how Thompson caught monkeypox or COVID, or what treatments he had received.
Health authorities are offering antivirals like Paxlovid to COVID patients to help fight their infection, and vaccines to those who test positive for monkeypox which they say can reduce symptoms.
Asked whether it was possible to catch COVID and monkeypox at the same time, Winslow said: ‘It’s certainly not impossible for that to occur, it’s just, you know, incredibly bad luck.
‘But they are very different viruses.
‘Monkeypox is in the same family of viruses that smallpox is.
‘One of the small good things about monkeypox is it is really transmitted almost exclusively by very close contact and not necessarily sexual contact but certainly very close contact.’
Monkeypox belongs to the orthopox family of viruses, which tend to trigger rashes in those they infect.
On the other hand, COVID is part of the Coronaviruses family — which get their name due to the spike proteins that surround them ‘like a crown’.
Another key difference is that COVID transmits primarily through droplets expelled into the air, whereas monkeypox only does this in very rare cases, when there is ‘sustained’ face-to-face contact.
It came as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) insisted America still had the ‘opportunity’ to contain monkeypox.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky claimed in an interview Friday that the government’s response is growing stronger every day.
‘I think we still have an opportunity to contain this,’ she said.
But her comments came as the US cases tally rose to the second-highest globally, and after other experts warned the disease is likely now out of control.
America’s response to the outbreak has been slow from the outset, with the CDC taking weeks to get testing up and running.
In the early days of the outbreak it was carrying out less than 100 a day.
The federal government has also been slammed for failing to roll out vaccines quickly, which public health experts say would’ve helped slow the spread of the virus.
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