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Third Adult Performer in Los Angeles Tests Positive for HIV
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April 29, 2004
Associated Press
In the midst of an outbreak that has halted most adult-filmproduction, a third performer has tested positive for HIV. "Thisis not over," said Sharon Mitchell, executive director of thenonprofit Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, whichscreens performers for STDs.
Mitchell said the third case, a female, was diagnosedThursday. The performer had had sex with five men before all werebarred from adult-film sets under a voluntary quarantine in placesince the first HIV case was announced on April 12. Fifty-threeperformers are on the quarantine list. The first case, a male,apparently contracted HIV while filming unprotected sex scenes inBrazil. After returning to the United States, he apparentlyinfected the second case, a female, Mitchell said.
Also on Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union ofSouthern California and the HIV/AIDS group Being Alive Los Angelesclaimed that the county Department of Health Services broke thelaw when it obtained private medical information on potentiallyHIV-infected performers without a subpoena. Peter Eliasberg, thechapter's managing attorney, said that if people think thegovernment can obtain their private medical records, they may notundergo HIV tests.
Mitchell said her attorney had advised her she had no choicebut to turn over the records, which included three months ofnegative HIV tests for 51 potentially HIV-exposed actors, alongwith their names and contact information. She said that no recordson the two actors who had tested HIV-positive at the time wereturned over because of state privacy requirements. The informationwas to be used only to interview the performers and determine ifthey may have transmitted HIV to people outside the adult-filmindustry, Mitchell said.
In 1999, during the last HIV scare in the multibillion-dollarUS porn business, only one person was infected.
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