Giant Molluscum Contagiosum in an HIV positive patient

Abstract

Molluscum Contagiosum (MC) is a skin infection caused by a double-stranded DNA virus of the family Poxviridae that replicates in the human epidermis, affecting mainly children and young sexually active adults and causing flesh colored papular lesions with central umbilication with an average size of 3-5mm, although atypical lesions that reach great size (Giant Molluscum Contagiosum), 10-15mm, can be seen in almost any immunodeficiency condition. We report the case of a 35 year old male patient with C3 HIV disease with an abdominal pathology associated to skin lesions predominantly in the forehead and scalp that reached sizes over 5mm, diagnosed as Giant Molluscum Contagiosum by skin biopsies.

Keywords: Dermatology; HIV; Immunosuppression; Molluscum Contagiosum.