HIV infection linked to $100 'vampire facial' procedure as spa owner is charged
An HIV infection has been linked to $100 "vampire facial" procedure at an unlicensed spa, authorities have revealed.
The New Mexico Department of Health said the patient is believed contacted the virus from the now-shut VIP Spa in Albuquerque after receiving a PRP facial.
The procedure involves drawing a person's blood and then parts of the blood are re-injected into the skin with micro-needling.
The spa, which was closed down in September 2018 by the Department of Health and the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, had been putting patients at risk of spreading blood-borne infections such as HIV.
59-year-old Maria de Lourdes Ramos de Ruiz only had a cosmetologist licence despite vampire facials requiring a medical licence, according to investigators.
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She has been charged with racketeering, fraud, five counts of practicing medicine without a license, six counts of money laundering, four counts of tax evasion and seven counts of wilful failure to collect and pay taxes.
The unlicensed VIP Spa Albuquerque was forced to close in 2018 (KOAT)More than 100 former VIP Spa clients were tested for HIV and other infections between 2018 and 2019 and two of the tests came back positive for HIV after receiving the $100 vampire facials.
The health department has reopened its investigation into VIP Spa after a new case in 2023 and has since identified additional new HIV infections related to the treatment received there.
Officials are recommending anyone who received any injected-related procedure, including a vampire facial or Botox, at VIP Spa be tested for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
Former clients who were tested before should be retested even if they have previously tested negative, according to the department.
Health officials have not disclosed how many new infections have been found since the investigation was reopened.
Dr. Laura Parajo, deputy secretary for the department, said: “It’s very important that we spread the word and remind people who received any kind of injection-related to services provided at the VIP Spa to come in for free and confidential testing."
The owner of the spa, Ramos de Ruiz, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.
The infection comes after a fungal meningitis outbreak at plastic surgery clinics in Mexico has infected dozens of people and caused seven deaths.
Many of the affected patients are young women from various states in the US, with the majority from Texas.
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Public health officials are urging those who may have been exposed to the infection to get tested as symptoms can take weeks, or even months, to first appear.
The patients have shown problems with blood vessels in the brain, such as spasms and infections.
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