A monkeypox patient’s nose started to rot in one of the most shocking cases documented in the current outbreak.

The 40-year-old man, from Germany, went to his GP with a red spot on his nose, which was initially dismissed as sunburn.

But within three days, the skin on his nose started to die and turn black, leaving him with a painful, swollen scab.

Around the same time white pus-filled spots developed across his entire body.

A PCR test confirmed he was infected with monkeypox and he was taken to hospital and given a course of antiviral medication.

Further tests revealed the patient, who was not named, also had undiagnosed syphilis and HIV. He told medics he had never been tested for a sexually transmitted infection (STI) before.

The man was given drugs to treat the infections and the lesions dried out but his nose only ‘partially improved’.

Doctors said his case had become so severe because the untreated HIV had left him immunocompromised, making him more at risk of necrosis.