Sealed tattoo bottles and permanent makeup inks marked sterile contain millions of dangerous bacteria, according to a new research report by the US Food and Drug Administration. A research report says that there are millions of microorganisms in the ink used for tattooing. Seong Jae Kim, a microbiologist at the FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research, said the report underscores the importance of continued monitoring of such products. The study report is published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
When tattooed on the skin, bacteria enter the body through the ink and grow. It can cause serious infections, skin diseases and other health problems, according to the FDA. The FDA said it had issued strong warnings in previous years about the serious infection risks from potentially fatal ink products.