Porn Valley- www.contracostatimes.com- A woman who works in the adult entertainment industry has tested positive for HIV, but health workers from the San Fernando Valley clinic where she is a client said Wednesday rumors of an outbreak are unfounded.
The case is an isolated one, the clinic said, and is significantly different from the HIV scare which jolted the industry five years ago.
“There has been misinformation posted on the (online) boards regarding a person testing positive for HIV,” said Brooke Hunter, clinical administrator for the Valley-based, nonprofit Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation.
“There has been a person who has tested positive. There were exceptionally few partners, inside and outside the industry,” Hunter said through an AIM statement. “All partners are currently testing negative and in adult employment quarantine. All required reporting has been complied with, as have the AIM and industry protocols. The investigation is ongoing. This is not a major event.”
Hunter said due to privacy issues, she could not report when the actress tested positive or how old she is. But she said rumors have overtaken the Internet about the incident.
“This has gotten out of proportion with people posting and blogging,” Hunter said. “All people involved have been notified and tested.”
The 2004 HIV outbreak of a handful of actors in the Valley-based adult film industry raised concerns about risky sexual acts among performers. Some health experts advocated the need for government regulation. Dozens of production companies in the multibillion-dollar industry shut down temporarily after actor Darren James tested positive for HIV, leading to the quarantine of more than 50 people because of possible exposure.
Health officials said they continue to disagree with the condom-optional policies on adult movie sets, and the practice of relying on periodic health screenings for safety.
Adult film actors get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases every 30 days.
“I just think it is wrong to expose people to life- threatening diseases that can be preventable,” said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director for Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Health.
Fielding said the 30-day testing protocol is insufficient.
“It’s certainly better than nothing, but it also gives people the impression everything is OK,” because HIV can remain latent over time, Fielding said.
“We have opened an investigation after hearing about it today,” Fielding said, adding that officials with AIM have yet to officially report the finding.
The AIM foundation was created in 1998 by co-founder Dr. Sharon Mitchell, a former adult actress. The foundation’s goal is to provide health care and counseling and promote safe sexual behavior, not only for the adult entertainment industry, but for everyone, according to its mission statement.
Adult industry experts said the practice of 30 day testing works well, and emphasized no HIV cases have emerged in years.
“The policies work. They are the best that the industry can have,” said Mark Kerns, a 25-year veteran writer for the Chatsworth-based Adult Video News.
“The industry has created this protocol test once a month and so far, there hasn’t been another case where someone has acquired HIV. It’s a very rare occurrence.”