Contaminated water in tattoo ink causes 19 infections in upstate New York

Authorities say contaminated water used in tattoo ink caused a mysterious outbreak of nasty skin rashes in upstate New York.

Dermatologist Mark Goldgeiger discovered the link after finding traces of bacteria related to tuberculosis in a sample taken from a patient who had a bumpy, reddish rash around his new tattoo.

“I explained [to the patient] that he had TB, and he had a look of horror on his face,” Goldgeiger told ABC News.

Goldgeiger’s patient, a normally healthy 20-year-old male with several other tattoos, didn’t have tuberculosis, but the doctor did find a trace of bacteria related to the deadly germ. He had recently been inked at a tattoo parlor in Rochester, N.Y.

“As soon as biopsy came back, I knew something in the process of tattooing was involved — the ink, the water used for dilution, the syringes, the dressings.”

Officials found 19 people who had been tattooed at the same location — all with gray ink — and experienced skin infections.

But everything at the tattoo parlor checked out — the artists were following all the proper health procedures, according to a case report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“We went there several times,” Dr. Byron Kennedy of the Department of Health in Monroe County told NBC News. “And we interviewed all 19 patients. They all confirmed they observed the artist using gloves ... using clean needles, and the like.”

Health officials reached out to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control to sample and test the ink. It turned out to contain Mycobacterium chelonae, a rare bacteria that is a form of the germ that causes tuberculosis.

The ink was purchased in Arizona in April 2011.

The bacteria likely came from distilled water, according to the CDC, which is not sterile, but often used in tattoo inks.

During the investigation, the CDC found similar cases in Washington, Iowa and Colorado.

The skin infections can be itchy and painful, and last for months, according to The Associated Press. They’re treated with antibiotics.

The ink was recalled.

Companies are urged to use only sterile water to make tattoo inks, but are not required to by law.

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