Man Gets Monkeypox ... and COVID

A Bay Area man had the unfortunate luck of being struck with not just one, but both of the illnesses currently making headlines. Mitcho Thompson tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of last month and was experiencing a lot of fatigue from that ... and then he developed red lesions on his back, legs, arms, and neck. "The doctor was very certain that I have monkeypox and that I had both," Thompson tells NBC Bay Area. "That was the question. Could I get them at the same time? And he said, 'Yes, yes, yes.'" He says he was "really sick" for weeks.

Monkeypox, which causes pimple-like bumps, could become entrenched in the US as a new sexually transmitted illness, experts tell the AP. However, some experts say there's still a chance for testing and vaccines to keep it contained before it becomes as widespread as illnesses like herpes, gonorrhea, and HIV. A lack of clear data on who has been infected, who has been vaccinated, how fast monkeypox is spreading, and how many people might be spreading it unknowingly is making it difficult to predict. Since the outbreak started two months ago, about 2,400 cases have been reported in the US, and estimates for how many it will grow to this summer range from 13,000 to more than 10 times that. (More on the possible future of the virus here.)