Three women have been diagnosed with HIV after getting “facials” called microneedling in New Mexico. The CDC says the incidents at an unlicensed medical spa are the first documented cases of the virus being transmitted through a cosmetic needle procedure, Mediafax reports.
Three women who were diagnosed with HIV after getting “facials” at an unlicensed medical spa in New Mexico are believed to be the first documented cases of people getting the virus through a cosmetic procedure that uses needles, officials said federal health care.
An investigation into the clinic from 2018 to 2023 found it apparently reused single-use equipment, The Guardian reports.
Although the transmission of HIV through contaminated blood through non-sterile injection is a well-known risk, the health authorities’ report stated that this is the first documentation of probable infections involving cosmetic services.
Cosmetic treatments applied with needles
Many of the popular cosmetic treatments are administered with needles, such as Botox to soften wrinkles and fillers to plump up lips. A “facial” or platelet-rich plasma microneedling procedure involves drawing the client’s blood, separating its components, and then using tiny needles to inject plasma into the face to rejuvenate the skin.
Tattoos also require needles.
The New Mexico Department of Health began investigating the spa in the summer of 2018 after being notified that a 40-year-old woman had tested positive for HIV despite having no known risk factors. The woman said she was exposed to needles through the procedure at the clinic that spring.
The spa was closed in the fall of 2018 after the investigation began, and the owner was prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license.
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