Public Health Warning For Wilson Ave. Tattoo Parlour

Toronto Public Health issued a warning about a Wilson Avenue tattoo and piercing shop Monday, claiming it failed to properly maintain sterilization equipment.

Anyone who was pierced or tattooed at It’s Just Body Art at 1072 Wilson Ave., near Keele, between Sept. 28, 2009 and Sept. 30, 2010 is being advised to visit their doctor and be tested for Hepatitis B, C and HIV. There have been no reports of infection related to the shop.

All equipment used to tattoo and pierce must be sterile and the machines that sterilize have to be checked bi-weekly to ensure they’re in proper working order. Dr. Herveen Sachdeva, Toronto’s Associate Medical Officer of Health, said the shop hadn’t tested its autoclave in a year.

“We have to assume the instruments may not be sterile,” she said.

Employees are also required to wash hands and change gloves between clients, use antiseptic on clients’ skin and open sterilized packages of equipment for each customer.

Sachdeva estimates a few hundred people were tattooed or pierced at the shop over the past year. The owner didn’t keep client records, she said.

The shop was closed down for two weeks following a public health inspection in September. The tattoo parlour reopened but it now only uses single-use instruments.

Anyone who received a tattoo or piercing at the shop is advised to talk to their doctor. You can also call Toronto Public Health at (416) 338-7600 for more information.

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