3 women likely contracted HIV through 'vampire facials' at unlicensed New Mexico spa: CDC

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (TND) — Three women likely contracted HIV while receiving "vampire facials" at an unlicensed New Mexico spa, the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) announced Thursday.

They mark the first-known HIV cases that were potentially transmitted through cosmetic injections.

HIV transmitted through cosmetic injection services via contaminated blood has not been previously documented," the CDC noted in a news release.

The news comes after the CDC, along with the New Mexico Department of Health, investigated cosmetic injection services "as a possible transmission route for HIV" when a woman tested positive for HIV in 2018 following a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) microneedling procedure at the spa.

The woman, the CDC said, did not use injection drugs, have recent blood transfusions, or sexual contact with anyone other than her current partner, who received a negative HIV test result after her diagnosis -- but she said she got a vampire facial.

In 2019, the New Mexico Department of Health linked the case to the VIP Spa in Albuquerque. The department, which previously said the spa was shut down after an inspection, offered spa clients free HIV testing, as well as testing for hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

By 2023, the CDC said five HIV patients were identified, including four women and one man who was a sexual partner of one of the women.

This investigation identified an HIV cluster associated with receipt of cosmetic injection services at an unlicensed facility that did not follow recommended infection control procedures or maintain client records," the CDC noted.

Two of the patients, according to the CDC, said their infections were likely due to exposures before they underwent cosmetic injection services.

The other three patients in this cluster had no known social contact with one another, and no specific mechanism for transmission among these patients was confirmed," the CDC said. "Evidence suggests that contamination from an undetermined source at the spa during spring and summer 2018 resulted in HIV-1 transmission to these three patients."

The CDC also said the inspection of the spa in 2018 showed several unsafe infection control practices. According to the CDC, a rack of unlabeled tubes containing blood were found on a kitchen counter, while more unlabeled tubes of blood and medical injectables were stored in a kitchen refrigerator with food.

"Unwrapped syringes were found in drawers, on counters, and discarded in regular trash cans," the CDC noted. "An autoclave (steam sterilizer) was not found on the premises. Procedure equipment was surface cleaned using ammonium chloride disinfecting spray and benzalkonium chloride disinfecting wipes after each client visit, and disposable electric desiccator tips were cleaned by alcohol immersion and reused."

The American Academy of Dermatology said a vampire facial procedure takes about 45 minutes to one hour. The procedure is done to treat signs of aging skin.

But, said the American Academy of Dermatology, "there's little evidence to show that it works -- or doesn't work."