Two clients who received “vampire facial” injections at a New Mexico spa last year have been diagnosed with HIV infections, according to reports.
The two people underwent the treatment — in which a provider injects the client’s own blood into the face as a way to rejuvenate the skin – at the VIP Spa in Albuquerque, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
They were recently diagnosed with the same HIV strain, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
The spa closed in September after the department claimed it wasn’t properly licensed and inspectors from several agencies reported problems with the storage, handling and disposal of needles.
Health officials are encouraging anyone who received the treatment at the spa to get tested. The agency said more than 100 people have already been tested for HIV, hepatitis B and C.
“While over 100 VIP Spa clients have already been tested, NMDOH is reaching out to ensure that testing and counseling services are available for individuals who received injection related services at the VIP Spa,” Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel said in a statement.
“Testing is important for everyone as there are effective treatments for HIV and many hepatitis infections,” she added.
Dr. Tierney Murphy, a medical epidemiologist with the Health Department, said there is a “high likelihood” that the HIV infections resulted from the procedure in the two cases.
She said she was unaware of any other documented cases of HIV transmission in the same manner.
“Vampire facials” gained notoriety after reality TV star Kim Kardashian posted a picture on Instagram showing the bloody skin treatment in 2013.
In February 2018, she said she regretted the procedure, also known as the platelet-rich plasma facial, which involves drawing blood from the arm, separating the platelets and then injecting them into the skin.
Kardashian described the procedure as “the one treatment that I’ll never do again,” according to Refinery29.
“Before I got the procedure, I just found out that I was pregnant, so I couldn’t use numbing cream or a pain killer and both are suggested,” she wrote, according to the entertainment outlet.
“It was really rough and painful for me. … It was honestly the most painful thing ever!”
The treatment can be safe if performed by licensed experts, according to Newsweek.
“While it has become incredibly popular and can yield wonderful results, it is not necessarily the miracle treatment some advertise it as,” Wilbur Hah of the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery told the magazine.
“That being said, (it) has been used for (the) last two decades to help treat musculoskeletal pain and regenerate cells; it is not a new ‘fad’ treatment. In fact, studies have shown that PRP effectively promotes tissue remodeling in aging skin,” he added.