Porn stars down tools
2004-04-16 11:20
Los Angeles - Adult movie producers agreed to shut down sets for weeks after two performers tested positive for the virus that causes Aids.
At least 45 men and women were under voluntary quarantine because they had sex with the HIV-positive performers or their sex partners, Sharon Mitchell of the non-profit Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation said ib Thursday.
The first performer to test positive, whom Mitchell declined to name, was "conscientious" about having HIV tests every three weeks, she said. On April 9 he tested positive for HIV and a follow-up test on Monday confirmed it, Mitchell said.
Mitchell confirmed later on Thursday that one of about a dozen women the performer had sex with in films also tested HIV-positive.
A list of quarantined performers was placed on the website of the foundation, which screens about 1 200 adult movie performers a month for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
As of Thursday about a dozen adult movie companies had agreed to follow a voluntary moratorium on production until June 8, said Tim Connelly, publisher of the industry news magazine AVN.
Absolutely insane
Although the quarantine is voluntary, the performers involved won't be working for at least two months, until new tests clear them, Connelly said. It would be "absolutely insane" for companies to hire them earlier, he said.
Dr Jonathan Fielding, director of public health and health officer for Los Angeles County, said the agency did not consider the HIV case a threat to public health "at this point".
"I think in general, they've done an appropriate job in terms of the quarantine measures taken," he said.
However, the discovery shows that screening programmes are not perfect and the only way to prevent Aids "is not to have unprotected sex".
It was unclear how much impact the work stoppage would have on the $4bn to $13bn-a-year industry, which is centred in the San Fernando Valley. Some companies have as much as a year's worth of movies ready, said Jill Kelly, a former adult performer turned producer.
Some of the largest companies declined to take part in the moratorium, arguing that they already have safety measures in place. Vivid Entertainment Group of Van Nuys said it requires condom use and negative HIV tests within 30 days of the start of production.
The last industry HIV scare was in 1999, when a male performer tested positive for the disease. He no longer performs and no other performers were infected. Before that, a male performer infected five women in 1998.
- AP