Health officials in New Mexico are sounding the alarm over new HIV infections traced to a salon that closed down years ago after its “vampire facials” were blamed for two clients testing positive. The New Mexico Department of Health is urging former clients of the VIP Spa to get tested for HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C if they had any injection-related service. The outreach comes in response to a new HIV infection uncovered earlier this year involving a person “whose only self-reported HIV risk exposure was a vampire facial received at VIP Spa,” the department said in a press release. Health officials have now reopened their investigation into the spa, which closed down in 2018 following the first two reported HIV infections. The owner, Maria Ramos de Ruiz, pleaded guilty to practicing medicine without a license last year.
