3 women got HIV after 'vampire facials': CDC explains how it happened

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new information about an Albuquerque spa that was shut down by health regulators after clients were infected with HIV.

The report released by the CDC on Thursday contained data that was collected by researchers with the federal agency, and the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH), about individuals who received "vampire facials," also known as "platelet-rich plasma (PRP) microneedling facials," at the VIP Beauty Salon and Spa and were exposed to HIV.

The CDC described the procedure as "drawing a client’s blood, separating the blood into its components of plasma and cells, and using single-use disposable or multiuse sterile equipment
to inject the PRP into the face for cosmetic purposes, such as skin rejuvenation and reducing the appearance of acne scars."

HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and can lead to AIDS if not treated. The virus can be controlled with medical care but there is no effective cure. Once people get HIV, they have it for life, the CDC says.

Unsafe practices at the spa

The CDC report concluded that the VIP Beauty Salon and Spa was an "unlicensed facility that did not follow recommended infection control procedures or maintain client records."

During an on-site inspection of the spa in the fall of 2018, officials found multiple unsafe practices including:

• "Unwrapped syringes were found in drawers, on counters, and discarded in regular trash cans."

• "A rack of unlabeled tubes containing blood were located on a kitchen counter."

• "Unlabeled tubes of blood and medical injectables (i.e., botox and lidocaine) were stored in the kitchen refrigerator along with food."

Investigators also noted that they did not find a steam sterilizer on the premises.

Clients exposed to HIV

The investigation into the VIP Beauty Salon started in the summer of 2018 after NMDOH was notified of a diagnosis of HIV infection in a woman with no known HIV risk factors who had undergone a vampire facial received at the spa in the spring of 2018.

NMDOH in response sent out several health alerts and hosted walk-in testing events for anyone who was a client of the spa.

The CDC report stated that officials identified five HIV patients who were patrons of the spa. The group included four women and one man who was a sexual partner of one of the four women patients and never received any services from the spa.

Previous Coverage:

• ‘Vampire Facials’ spa owner linked to HIV cases faces 24 charges
• DOH urges clients of VIP Spa get tested after 2 confirmed cases of HIV
• Health officials warn some Albuquerque spa clients to get HIV tests

Evidence reviewed by researchers suggests that three of the women contracted HIV due to "contamination from an undetermined source at the spa during spring and summer 2018." The report stated that the "three patients in this cluster had no known social contact with one another, and no specific mechanism for transmission among these patients was confirmed."

Information about the three women and their visits to the spa can be found below:

Researchers determined that the one woman and her male partner who were diagnosed with HIV were exposed before the woman received cosmetic injection services at the spa. Officials made this conclusion based on the fact that the woman and man "had stage 3 or chronic HIV infections," and the woman reported a positive HIV screen in the summer of 2016, nearly two years before she started PRP with microneedling at VIP Beauty Salon and Spa.

Information about the woman and her male partner can be found below:

Blood specimens from the five patients and a former client with a 2012 HIV diagnosis were submitted to the CDC for nucleotide sequence analysis. The CDC report noted that "all five patients were confirmed to have spa–related cases."

According to the CDC, the agency previously had no reports of HIV transmissions through cosmetic injection services via contaminated blood. This investigation "is the first to associate HIV transmission with nonsterile cosmetic injection services," the report stated.

The CDC noted that free testing remains available for former VIP Beauty Salon and Spa clients and the investigation and public health response are continuing.

Spa owner charged

The owner of the spa, Maria Ramos De Ruiz, pled guilty to five counts of practicing medicine without a license in late 2022. She was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. VIP Beauty Salon and Spa closed on Sept. 7, 2018.