At Least 3 Women Contracted HIV After Getting “Vampire Facial” At Spa, US Health Body Finds

Three women were likely infected with HIV while receiving a so-called vampire facial at a New Mexico spa, marking the first known cases of the virus being transmitted during a cosmetic injection procedure. according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vampire facial is considered a more affordable and less invasive option than the facelift. During the facial, a person’s blood is drawn from the arm, then the platelets are separated and applied to the patient’s face using microneedles. Although affordable, this process can pose a serious health hazard if carried out in unsanitary conditions.

This turned out to be the case for several people who may have been infected with HIV through vampire facials at the since-closed facility, according to the CDC report. “This investigation is the first to link HIV transmission to non-sterile cosmetic injection services,” he said. CBS News.

According to the report, the first case linked to VIP Spa in Albuquerque was discovered in 2018 and prompted the New Mexico Department of Health to offer free testing to anyone who received injections at the facility. The department said at the time that the spa was closed after its investigators “identified practices that could spread blood-borne infections.” The most recent case involves a former spa guest who tested positive for the virus last year, leading the Health Ministry to reopen the investigation.

Now, the CDC report provides new details about affected guests and spa practices. According to NBC News, the first case was a middle-aged woman who tested positive for HIV in 2018. She had no history of injection drug use, recent blood transfusions, or recent sexual contact with an HIV-positive person – but she reported receiving a vampire facial, the CDC report said. The second two were also middle-aged women who had vampire facials in 2018.

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The CDC said the spa did not have the proper licenses to operate and did not use proper safety measures. The team also discovered unlabeled tubes of blood on a kitchen counter, as well as other injectables stored with food in the kitchen refrigerator. The spa owner pleaded guilty in 2022 to five counts of practicing medicine without a license, the Department of Health announced last year. She was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

CDC and Department of Health investigators ultimately determined that 59 spa guests may have been exposed to HIV. Of them, 20 had received vampire facials. Investigators said the initial source of HIV contamination at the spa remains unknown.

People considering injections for medical or cosmetic reasons are encouraged to ask whether a provider, clinic or spa is licensed and trained, and whether the products involved are FDA-approved and purchased from a reputable source, it said. the CDC.