Infected tattoos linked to distilled water in ink

Infected tattoos linked to distilled water in ink
Article by: SlingerVille Staff
August 23, 2012

Over 40 men and women got hard-to-treat infections from tattoo ink that was diluted using distill water. The artists these infected people went to get tattooed by were all licensed tattoo artist who had followed the sterile protocol, according to public health officials.

With 21% of the population supporting tattoos, a lot of people could potentially become affected. The public health officials issued a warning so that anyone going to get a new tattoo would be aware and for doctors to know if they have patients with rashes around their tattoo.

The investigation began after a 20-year-old male in New York had a rash that would not go away after he got his tattoo. After undergoing some tests, they concluded that the rash was caused by a rare bacteria called Mycobacterium chelonae. Mycobacterium chelonae is a relative to a tuberculosis bug, and lives in soil and water. Although rashes are not going to cause any deaths, it will take weeks of antibiotics to cure them.

19 people who got tattoos from the same artist received the same “fashionable artistic treatment” – a gray wash that makes a tattoo resemble a photograph. As stated before, the artists did use all the sterile procedures that they are required to.

"We went there several times," said Dr. Byron Kennedy of the Monroe County, N.Y., department of public health. "And we interviewed all 19 patients. They all confirmed they observed the artist using disposable gloves ... using clean needles, and the like."

The artist had purchased the ink at a trade show in Arizona, so the health officials called in the Food and Drug Administration, which in turn got ink samples and sent them to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing. That is where they discovered that the ink was contaminated with M. chelonae.

Tara MacCannell, a CDC epidemiologist, said the agency sent out a wider alert. “As a result of putting out a more general health alert, we found several brands of inks that were linked to this particular type of infection,” she said in a telephone interview.

32 more people in Colorado, Washington and Iowa had the infection as well that was caused by inks made by three other companies.

Tattoo artists are required to follow strict hygiene procedures, such as wearing protective gloves and using sterile materials. They are required to take regular educational classes and they must be inspected.

“They can do all those things right and get this contaminated tattoo ink and still result in infection,” MacCannell said. “There are lots of people who are very conscientious about their practices … yet they are not given the tools to ensure the sterility of the product.”

The most likely source of the contamination is distilled water, CDC says. “Tattoo ink manufacturers think distilled water is sterile,” MacCannell said. Sometimes they use alcohol or witch hazel as a preservative, but that doesn’t work on these specific germs.

“Non-tubercular mycoplasmae have no problem living in alcohol. They have no problem living in witch hazel,” MacCannell said. “They are related to tuberculosis and that is a very hard bug to kill, too. They are generally known to be resistant to disinfectants.”

The rash could take up to four months to go away and some patients may even need to have the whole area surgically removed, leaving them with a scar. If you get a tattoo and develop a scar, go straight to a doctor.

Source: http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/22/13417518-infected-tattoos-linked-to-distilled-water-in-ink?lite

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