Three women were diagnosed with HIV after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed New Mexico medical spa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report last week, marking the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through cosmetic services using needles.
Federal health officials said in a new report that an investigation from 2018 through 2023 into the clinic in Albuquerque, VIP Spa, found it apparently reused disposable equipment intended for one-time use, transmitting HIV to clients through its services via contaminated blood.
Vampire facials, formally known as platelet-rich plasma microneedling facials, are cosmetic procedures intended to rejuvenate one’s skin, making it more youthful-looking and reducing acne scars and wrinkles, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.
After a client's blood is drawn, a machine separates the blood into platelets and cells.
The plasma is then injected into the client's face, either through single-use disposable or multiuse sterile needles.
Vampire facials have gained popularity in recent years as celebrities such as Kim Kardashian have publicized receiving the procedure.
HIV transmission via unsterile injection is a known risk of beauty treatments and other services, officials say.
Despite this, the Academy says vampire facials are generally safe.
Health officials say spa facilities that offer cosmetic injection services should practice proper infection control and maintain client records to help prevent the transmission of bloodborne pathogens such as HIV.
The New Mexico Department of Health was notified during summer 2018 that a woman with no known HIV risk factors was diagnosed with an HIV infection after receiving the spa's vampire facial services that spring.
During the investigation, similar HIV strains were found among three women, all former clients of the spa. Evidence suggested that contamination from services at the spa resulted in the positive HIV infection tests for these three patients, according to the CDC report.
Another woman, who also received services at the spa, and her male sexual partner, who did not go to the spa, were both found to have a close HIV strain as well, but the HIV diagnoses for these two patients “were likely attributed to exposures before receipt of cosmetic injection services," the CDC said.
Evidence suggested that contamination from services at the spa resulted in the positive HIV infection tests for the other three patients.
Health officials found equipment containing blood on a kitchen counter, unlabeled tubes of blood and injectables in the refrigerator alongside food and unwrapped syringes not properly disposed of. The CDC report said that a steam sterilizer, known as an autoclave — which is necessary for cleaning equipment that is reused — was not found at the spa.
Through the New Mexico Department of Health's investigation, nearly 200 former clients of the spa, and their sexual partners, were tested for HIV, and no additional infections were found.
According to the CDC, free testing remains available for those who previously frequented the spa.
The former owner of VIP Spa, Maria de Lourdes Ramos de Ruiz, pleaded guilty in 2022 to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license, including conducting the unlicensed vampire facials.
The New Mexico Attorney General's office said Ramos de Ruiz also did illegal plasma and Botox-injection procedures.
According to prosecutors, inspections by state health and regulation and licensing departments found the code violations, and the spa closed in fall 2018 after the investigation was launched.
Ramos de Ruiz was sentenced to 7 1/2 years, with four years being suspended on supervised probation, 3 1/2 years time in prison and parole, according to court documents.
Raul A. Lopez, attorney for Ramos de Ruiz, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate solutions reporter. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.
'Vampire facials' were linked to cases of HIV. Here's what to know about the beauty treatment
'Vampire facials' were linked to cases of HIV. Here's what to know about the beauty treatment
FILE - This electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health shows a human T cell, in blue, under attack by HIV, in yellow, the virus that causes AIDS. Three women who were diagnosed with HIV after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed New Mexico medical spa are the first believed to have contracted the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles, according to federal health officials. (Seth Pincus, Elizabeth Fischer, Austin Athman/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH via AP, File)
TANAH DATAR, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities seeded clouds on Wednesday, trying to prevent further rain and flash floods after deluges that hit Sumatra Island over the weekend left at least 67 people dead and another 20 missing.
Monsoon rains triggered a landslide of mud and cold lava from Mount Marapi, eventually causing rivers to breach their banks. The deluge tore through mountainside villages in four districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday.
The floods swept away people and dozens of homes and submerged hundreds of houses and buildings, forcing more than 1,500 families to flee to temporary government shelters, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari.
He said 67 bodies had been pulled from mud and rivers by Wednesday, mostly in the worst-hit Agam and Tanah Datar districts, while rescuers are searching for 20 people reported missing. About 44 villagers were injured.
Cloud seeding involves dispersing particles into clouds to create precipitation, thereby modifying the weather.
National Disaster Management Agency chief Suharyanto said the aim of Wednesday's action was to redirect the rain elsewhere and keep the search operation free of downpours, which could hamper the rescuers' progress.
Suharyanto, who goes by a single name like many Indonesians, said the emergency response will last until May 25. Authorities are evaluating which areas are no longer inhabitable and which residents need to be relocated "from the danger zone.”
Suharyanto spoke during a visit to the devastated villages in hard-hit Tanah Datar district on Wednesday.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency head Dwikorita Karnawati has said that more rain was forecast for West Sumatra in the coming days, and that extreme rainfall could continue until next week.
Karnawati said an air force plane was sent up to shoot salt flares into the clouds on Wednesday to get the clouds to release water and break up before they reach the devastated areas in West Sumatra province. About 15 tons of salt have been prepared for the seeding operation, she said.
Muhari, the disaster agency spokesperson, said Indonesia’s air force teamed up with the country’s technology agency to carry out two rounds of cloud seeding Wednesday each using a ton of sodium chloride, or salt.
Rescue workers meanwhile combed through rivers and the rubble of devastated villages where roads were transformed into murky brown rivers and villages were left covered by thick mud, rocks, and uprooted trees.
Heavy rains cause frequent landslides and flash floods in Indonesia, an archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near floodplains.
Marapi has been active since an eruption late last year that killed 23 climbers. It is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The country is prone to seismic upheaval because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.
This drone photo shows the damage at a village affected by a flash flood in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Rescuers on Tuesday searched in rivers and the rubble of devastated villages for bodies, and whenever possible, survivors of flash floods that hit Indonesia's Sumatra Island over the weekend. (AP Photo/Sutan Malik Kayo)
Rescue inspect the damage by a flash flood in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Indonesian authorities seeded clouds on Wednesday, trying to prevent further rain and flash floods after deluges that hit the country's Sumatra Island over the weekend left a number of people dead and missing. (AP Photo/Ali Nayaka)
People inspect the damage by a flash flood in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Indonesian authorities seeded clouds on Wednesday, trying to prevent further rain and flash floods after deluges that hit the country's Sumatra Island over the weekend left a number of people dead and missing. (AP Photo/Fachri Hamzah)
People inspect the damage by a flash flood in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Rescuers on Tuesday searched in rivers and the rubble of devastated villages for bodies, and whenever possible, survivors of flash floods that hit Indonesia's Sumatra Island over the weekend. (AP Photo/Sutan Malik Kayo)
This drone photo shows the damage at a village affected by a flash flood in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Rescuers on Tuesday searched in rivers and the rubble of devastated villages for bodies, and whenever possible, survivors of flash floods that hit Indonesia's Sumatra Island over the weekend. (AP Photo/Sutan Malik Kayo)
People inspect the damage by a flash flood in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Rescuers on Tuesday searched in rivers and the rubble of devastated villages for bodies, and whenever possible, survivors of flash floods that hit Indonesia's Sumatra Island over the weekend. (AP Photo/Fachri Hamzah)
Indonesia seeds clouds to block rainfall after floods killed at least 58 people while 35 are missing
People examine the damage at an area badly affected by a flash flood in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, May 13, 2024. Heavy rains and torrents of cold lava and mud flowing down a volcano's slopes on Indonesia's Sumatra island triggered flash floods causing a number of people dead and missing, officials said Sunday. (AP Photo/Ali Nayaka)
Indonesia seeds clouds to block rainfall after floods killed at least 58 people while 35 are missing
