The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that three women were probably HIV positive after getting a “vampire facial” at a spa in New Mexico. These are the first known cases of the virus spreading after a cosmetic injection procedure. A vampire facial is said to be a less invasive and more cost-effective alternative to a facelift.
During the facial, a person’s blood is drawn from their arm, then platelets are separated and applied to the patient’s face through a microneedle. Although affordable, this method can pose a major health risk if performed in unsanitary conditions.
According to the CDC report, multiple people were probably infected with HIV through vampire facials at the now-closed facility. “This investigation is the first to associate HIV transmission with nonsterile cosmetic injection services,” it stated, according to CBS News.
As per the report, the first case connected to the VIP Spa in Albuquerque was detected in 2018, prompting the New Mexico Department of Health to provide free testing to everyone who received injections there. At the time, the department announced that the spa was closed after its inspectors “identified practices that could potentially spread blood-borne infections”. The health department reopened the investigation after the most recent occurrence, in which a former client of the spa tested positive for the virus last year.
Investigators from the CDC and the health department concluded that 59 spa clients may have been infected with HIV. Of those, 20 got vampire facials. The original cause of the HIV infection at the spa, according to the investigators, is still unknown.