March 08, 2024
2 min read
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Key takeaways:
- Five cases of HIV were traced to “vampire facials” performed at a New Mexico spa.
- The infections could have been prevented if the spa had taken appropriate infection prevention and control measures.
DENVER — HIV infections linked to “vampire facials” performed at a spa in New Mexico could have been avoided if the now-closed spa had adhered to appropriate infection prevention and control practices, experts said.
During the summer of 2018, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) was notified of an HIV infection in a woman with no known HIV risk factors but who reported exposure to needles during a cosmetic procedure — a “vampire facial” — at a spa that spring.
Clients of a spa in New Mexico were diagnosed with HIV after undergoing a cosmetic procedure referred to as a “vampire facial.” Image: Adobe Stock.
Anna M. Behar, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist in the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, explained that “vampire facial” is a colloquial term for platelet-rich plasma microneedling.
“Essentially what happens is a clinician draws a client’s blood, spins it down and separates the plasma from the cells, and then injects the plasma into the face for cosmetic purposes,” Behar said during a press briefing at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. “It leaves behind these blood droplets on the skin, which is why it’s called ‘vampire facial.’”
The initial report led the NMDOH and the CDC to investigate the possible transmission of HIV through cosmetic injection services from the spring of 2018, when the initial case received a vampire facial, until that fall when the spa permanently closed. The investigation included an on-site inspection of the spa.
According to Behar and colleagues, after suspected cases were reported to NMDOH between 2018 and 2023, blood specimens were submitted to the CDC for sequencing to determine if they were associated.
The investigation identified one client with a previous HIV diagnosis in 2012, 20 clients who received vampire facials and 59 who received other injection services such as Botox during the spring, summer and fall of 2018.
Among five suspected cases of HIV identified among four former spa clients and one sexual partner of a spa client, all were diagnosed between 2018 and 2023 and none had known HIV risk factors.
Testing showed that the virus in each case was similar, indicating that vampire facials were the likely route of transmission for three cases in the cluster, Behar and colleagues said. The other two people had previous HIV infections, likely caused by sexual contact.
The on-site inspection — initiated after officials learned that the owner of the spa was operating without appropriate licenses — revealed a wide range of contamination and infection control violations, including the storage of unlabeled tubes of blood on the kitchen counter, indicating the potential of transmission of multiple blood borne pathogens through multiple sources, investigators said.
“It is a story about adequate licensing and following infection control practices,” Behar said. “The overarching theme is that when we apply our infection control practices, things like this don’t typically happen.”
Perspective
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Elizabeth Sherman, PharmD
This investigation is highly relevant because it is the first to demonstrate HIV transmission through unsterile cosmetic injection practices in a medical spa setting. Through this vampire facial cluster investigation, it was determined that contamination and poor infection control practices at a medical spa resulted in HIV transmission for three clients.
A vampire facial involves a clinician drawing a client’s blood, separating the blood into plasma and cells and injecting the plasma into the face for cosmetic purposes. However, this medical spa, which has since permanently closed, did not uphold health and safety standards — the spa owner was operating with an expired cosmetology license, without a clinical license to provide cosmetic injection services and with a wide scope of contamination and infection control violations that led to the potential for bloodborne pathogen transmission.
At the conclusion of the presentation, the presenting author provided a list of methods by which clients can ensure they receive safe and hygienic cosmetic procedures, including ensuring the clinician has a current clinical license to perform cosmetic injection services, visually observing the clinician opening up supplies to ensure sterility, and ensuring specimens are appropriately labeled with the client’s name and date of birth.
Elizabeth Sherman, PharmD
Associate professor of pharmacy practice
Nova Southeastern University
Principal investigator, local partner site
Southeast AIDS Education and Training Center
Disclosures: Sherman reports no relevant financial disclosures.
Published by:
Sources/Disclosures
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Source:
Behar AM, et al. Abstract 191. Presented at: Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections; March 3-6, 2024; Denver.
Disclosures:
Behar reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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