Department of Health recommends VIP Spa clients get tested for HIV

Additional clients of the now-shuttered VIP Spa in Albuquerque have recently tested positive for HIV, and state health officials are urging other customers who received injections at the spa to get tested for the virus.

The New Mexico Department of Health in a news release Wednesday said the department's Infectious Disease Bureau received a report earlier this year of a newly diagnosed case of HIV and the person's only self-reported risk exposure was a vampire facial done at VIP Beauty Salon and Spa, which was located at 809 Tijeras NW, Suite B, in Downtown Albuquerque. The department reopened its investigation into the spa and has since found additional HIV infections.

There have so far been five cases of HIV in people who received injections at the spa and didn't have other risk factors for HIV, said David Barre, a spokeswoman for the health department.

The spa's former owner was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to practicing medicine without a license.

“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,” said Dr. Laura Parajon, deputy secretary for the Department of Health.

The window from exposure to a positive test can be anywhere from 10 to 90 days, which is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that people with a potential exposure be tested twice, three months apart, Barre said.

The department plans to hold free walk-in testing events to screen for HIV and hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

The screenings will be at the South Valley Public Health Office, 2001 El Centro Familiar SW, on the following dates:

• Friday, July 7, from 3-6:30 p.m.
• Saturday, July 15, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 18, from 3-6:30 p.m.

The state also has a hotline (505) 479-2164 for former spa clients to call to get information about testing. People can also get information about testing at www.nmhivguide.org.

The spa was closed in September 2018 after an inspection showed unsafe practices that could lead to blood-borne infections. Inspectors found unwrapped needles and unlabeled tubes of blood in the business. They also found fake certificates for Botox and "vampire facial" training hanging on the wall. A vampire facial involves blood being injected into a person.

The spa's former owner, Maria de Lordes Ramos de Ruiz, 61, pleaded guilty last year to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license.

She had been indicted in April 2021 for performing facials and other unlicensed medical procedures on clients, including two people who later contracted HIV.

Second Judicial District Judge Lucy Solimon sentenced Ramos de Ruiz to three-and-a-half years in prison, four years of probation and 800 hours of community service.