Yikes! What a mess!
Since the news of one confirmed case of HIV in the porn industry, it now turns out that there are at least 16 other adult performers with the disease, causing concern for L.A. County health officials and AIDS activists.
The Division of Occupational Safety and Health has found the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM) – which tests performers for STDs – resistant to full disclosure, but AIM insists that they are likewise limited by laws that protect patient and employer rights.
While it is not known who the infected actress is, it is known that she slept with a male performer and her boyfriend since testing positive for HIV, and those men then had sex with another 6 partners. The actor is now under work quarantine and everyone else has been alerted and offered testing. So far, no one who is known to have had sexual contact with the woman has tested positive.
Because the additional 16 cases have not been investigated by the government, it is unknown whether the performers contracted the disease at work or elsewhere.
The last major HIV outbreak occurred in 2004, when 5 porn performers tested positive for the disease, shutting down the industry for a month.
While state labor codes do require the use of personal protective equipment against blood or bodily fluids in the work place, no law specifically requires the use of condoms in porn. When the matter has come up (pardon the pun), no one would back such legislation, fearing that condom requirements would push porn into more dangerous underground realms.
What we want to know is what’s so un-sexy about being safe?
Condoms and regular testing are part of healthy, responsible sexual behavior.
Knowledge is power and power is sexy!
Use a condom and get tested regularly!
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