Porn: Another HIV case
2004-05-06 14:07
Los Angeles - A fourth adult movie performer has tested HIV positive in an outbreak that has halted most pornographic film production in the multibillion-dollar industry.
The actress had unprotected sex with HIV-positive actor Darren James, officials with the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation said on Wednesday.
The woman's name was not released by the health foundation, but AVN, the pornographic industry's online magazine, said her manager confirmed it was a woman with the stage name Miss Arroyo.
Arroyo apparently contracted the virus on March 30 while filming a scene with James, AVN said.
James contracted the virus in March while shooting a movie in Brazil, health officials said. Two other women who worked with him after his return to the United States also have tested HIV-positive.
About 50 people who performed with either James or those he worked with have been on a voluntary quarantine list.
The list effectively prevents them from doing sex scenes until they have passed two more monthly HIV tests. Dozens of producers have shut down filming pending testing.
The last HIV scare in the porn industry was in 1999 and involved only a single case.
The latest outbreak has prompted an investigation by California's workplace safety agency and calls for regulation of the largely self-regulating industry.
The California Assembly Health Committee rejected a bill on Tuesday that would have required adult movie performers to use condoms and undergo testing for sexually transmitted diseases every two weeks.
The bill must undergo more study before it can be heard, the committee declared.
- AP