What Is Vampire Facial And How The Cosmetic Procedure Left Three Women Infected With HIV
Authorities in the US have detected what is being described as the first cases of HIV transmission through cosmetic injection. At least three women in the US state of New Mexico have been infected with HIV while receiving vampire facials at a spa.
Authorities in the US have detected what is being described as the first cases of HIV transmission through cosmetic injection. At least three women in the US state of New Mexico have been infected with HIV while receiving vampire facials at an unlicensed local spa. Authorities also fear that more of the spa's customers could have been infected.
HEALTH PLUS
What is vampire facial
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) facial treatments, or ¡°vampire facials¡± are an extremely popular anti-aging treatment that uses a person's own blood to promote collagen production and trigger growth factors. Vampire facials became popular for being inexpensive, minimally invasive, and non-surgical and for their ability to improve the skin's overall appearance while targeting specific issues.
How the HIV infections were found
According to US media reports, the first case of HIV transmission linked to the VIP Spa in Albuquerque was discovered in 2018 in a middle-aged woman. The two other women also underwent vampire facials at the spa in 2018 and the latest case was identified in 2023 during a hospitalisation.
Impact Medical
Following the first case, an investigation by the CDC had found that the spa did not have appropriate licenses to operate and was not using proper safety measures.
They also found unlabeled tubes of blood on a kitchen counter at the spa, as well as in the kitchen refrigerator, next to food and injectables like lidocaine and unwrapped syringes in drawers, on counters and discarded in trash cans.
CDC and health department investigators had estimated that 59 spa clients may have been exposed to HIV.
Spa owner jailed
¡°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 said.
Reuters/Representational image
Investigators said the original source of the HIV contamination at the spa remains unknown.
In 2022, the spa¡¯s owner pleaded guilty in 2022 to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in prison.
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