3 women contract HIV from ‘vampire facials’ in US, in first known cases of transmission through cosmetic injection
- Three women contracted HIV after getting ‘vampire facial’ procedures at an unlicensed medical spa, in the first known cases of people getting the virus this way
- An investigation found that the spa in New Mexico reused disposable electric desiccator tips
Three women contracted HIV after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed medical spa in New Mexico, according to federal authorities.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, released last week, that the three patients were the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through cosmetic injection services.
The CDC said it started an investigation in 2018 after the New Mexico Department of Health found a positive HIV test from a woman in her 40s.
At the time, the patient reported no injection drug use, recent blood transfusions, or recent sexual contact with anyone other than her current sexual partner, per the National Public Health Agency.
However, she did report exposure to needles during a microneedling procedure at a spa in Albuquerque, New Mexico, per the CDC.
The procedure, aimed at making the skin look smoother, tighter, and fuller, involves collecting blood from a patient, separating the plasma and platelets, and reinjecting the mixture into the skin.
