Alberta Health Services (AHS) is urging anyone who received a piercing at the Victor Proctor piercing shop in Coleman to get tested for Hepatitis and HIV, after the shop was found to be practicing unsanitary piercing procedures.
The shop, which has been operating out of a space within the Tommy Gun Tattoo shop in downtown Coleman for the past three years, was shut down as a result of failing to properly sterilize the tools used for piercing.
“The Victor Proctor piercing operation did not have proper sterilization processes in place, meaning individuals who received piercings through this operation may have been exposed to viruses such as Hepatitis B and C, and HIV,” said AHS Medical Officer Dr. Vivien Suttorp in a press release.
She noted that in order to prevent the spread of infection, equipment used in piercing or any procedure where skin is broken must be cleaned, disinfected and sterilized according to health standards, or must be a single-use item, neither of which were the case at Victor Proctor.