York Region is advising people who received certain services at a Richmond Hill, Ont., clinic to get tested for hepatitis and HIV.
In a news release, the municipality says anyone who has received wet cupping or micro-needling/derma rolling services at Huai Kui Xu TCM Clinic since Oct. 1, 2015 should get tested for blood-borne infections as a precaution.
York Region says it inspected the clinic on June 7 and found devices used for wet cupping were not properly cleaned and sterilized between clients, and single-use micro-needle/derma rollers were reused on multiple clients.
While it considers the risk to clients who received those services to be low, York says all should seek medical followups and be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
York Region Public Health issued an order for the clinic operator to stop performing the services immediately after identifying the health hazards.
The health authority says it is currently only allowing the clinic's operator to provide assessment and provision of Chinese herbal medicine, and it will reinspect the clinic's infection prevention and control practices before allowing it to resume services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2023.
The Canadian Press
