Researchers have found that patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who are infected with mpox may experience a more severe form of the disease and may be more likely to die from the virus than those without HIV, according to an article published in The New York Times. In a new study—published by Mitjà in The Lancet and presented at the 2023 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections—researchers examined the level of CD4 cells in 382 patients with both HIV and the mpox infection and found that CD4 levels were below 200 in the 27 patients who died from the disease, and that those with levels below 100 had a 30% rate of mortality. Additionally, patients with advanced HIV and compromised immune systems presented with ulcerated lesions throughout the body—including nodules in the lungs—rather than just at the exposure site, as most other patients experienced. Previous studies have estimated that as many as 40% to 50% of the 86,000 individuals infected by the virus also had HIV. The researchers concluded that mpox should be added to the list of opportunistic infections for patients with HIV and that this patient population should receive two subcutaneous vaccine doses—and urged all patients who contract the mpox infection to get tested for HIV.
May 25, 2023