At least three women were infected with HIV during “vampire facials” at an unlicensed spa in Albuquerque, federal officials said Thursday. It is the first time HIV transmission through cosmetic injection services has been documented, they said.
The three were among a group of five people who shared very similar strains of HIV, four of whom had undergone a procedure called platelet-rich plasma microneedling at the spa. The fifth person, a man, had a sexual relationship with one of the women.
Researchers do not yet know the exact source of the infection. A 2018 HIV diagnosis in a patron who reported no behavioral risk factors led to a public health investigation when the woman said she had received a cosmetic treatment involving needles called platelet-rich facial microneedling.
An inspection of the spa found unlabeled tubes of blood on a kitchen counter, others stored with food in a refrigerator and unwrapped syringes in drawers and trash cans.
The installation also appeared to be reuse of disposable equipment intended for single use, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report comes after an announcement by health officials earlier this month that they research a number of diseases it is linked to counterfeit or improperly injected Botox containing high amounts of botulinum toxin, which is used in small doses to smooth wrinkles.
“If people are concerned — and I’ve had friends ask me, ‘What would you do?'” — the first step is to check that your provider is licensed to provide cosmetic injection services, said Anna M. Stadelman-Behar, CDC epidemiologist who is the lead author of the HIV report.
“If they are licensed, then they are trained in infection control and know the correct procedures and are bound by law to follow appropriate infection control practices.”
Overall, he noted, the risk of infection during cosmetic procedures is generally low. “If you’re worried, go get an HIV test,” said Dr. Stadelman-Behar. “The CDC recommends that all adults between the ages of 13 and 64 get tested at least once as part of routine medical care and know their status.”
So-called vampire facials involve taking the patient’s own blood, putting it in a centrifuge to separate out the platelet-rich plasma, and then using very fine, short needles to puncture the skin.
This is said to stimulate the skin to produce elastic and collagen and creates openings for the plasma, which is applied topically to help repair the skin. The process is promoted to reduce the signs of aging, acne scars and sun damage.
The New Mexico Department of Health, which was made aware of the unusual HIV infection in 2018 when the first woman was diagnosed, launched an investigation into the spa. Over time, officials identified four former clients and one sexual partner who had been diagnosed with HIV between 2018 and 2023, despite reporting few risks associated with the infection, such as injecting drug use, blood transfusions or having sex with new partner.
The spa was closed in the fall of 2018, shortly after the first unusual contamination was detected. But the investigation, as well as efforts to notify clients and former clients that they may have been exposed to HIV, were hampered by the spa’s poor records.
Eventually, the researchers were able to compile a list of names and phone numbers from consent forms the clients had signed, handwritten appointment records and phone contacts. They identified 59 clients who were at risk of infection, including 20 who received “vampire facials” and 39 who received other services, such as Botox, between spring and fall 2018.
Public health investigators also reached out to the community about the risks to former spa clients. In total, 198 former spa clients and their sexual partners were tested for HIV between 2018 and 2023.
Five people carrying viruses that were very similar were confirmed to have spa-related outbreaks. But two of them — a female client and her male partner — had advanced HIV disease that researchers said likely stemmed from previous infections, before the spa treatments.
The report said two people at the complex had tested positive during rapid HIV tests taken when they applied for life insurance, including one tested in 2016, before receiving treatment at the spa, and one in fall 2018.
However, only one had been notified of the positive test result and the diagnosis was confirmed by a primary care provider in 2019.
Investigators said they never identified the exact route of infection at the spa during the spring and summer of 2018.
“When we did the inspection at the spa, it was clear that needles were being reused and also that blood samples were being reused,” said Dr. Stadelman-Behar. “We found vials with no label, no date of birth, no date of collection, that had been punctured multiple times.”
She advises people undergoing these types of cosmetic procedures to ask providers to open syringes and vials in front of them and to make sure that when their blood is drawn, the vials are properly labeled with their name, date of birth and the date collection. .
“But the biggest advantage is that licensing is extremely important,” he said.