TNJ4555

Saw this in today's (4/30/04) NY Times:

April 30, 2004
New H.I.V. Infection in Sex-Film Industry
By NICK MADIGAN

LOS ANGELES, April 29 — Health officials on Thursday confirmed a third case of H.I.V. infection among actors in the pornography industry.

Sharon Mitchell, the director of a clinic that is testing hundreds of performers for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, said the latest infection had been detected in a 26-year-old woman from the Czech Republic who worked on a sex-video on March 23 with Darren James, the first actor here known to have been infected in the outbreak.

Ms. Mitchell, who informed the Czech actress of her condition on Thursday morning, did not identify her, but confirmed a report on the Adult Video News Web site that her stage name is Jessica Dee. Four tests were used to establish the presence of the virus.

"She's been counseled," said Ms. Mitchell, the director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation. "No one is ever very happy about getting H.I.V., but she's taking to counseling very well and she is already on antiretroviral therapy, early H.I.V. meds."

Another actress who had worked with Mr. James, Lara Roxx, a Canadian, was found to have the virus two weeks ago.

The outbreak, which involves the first known cases of H.I.V. in the San Fernando Valley sex-video industry since 1999, has forced a 60-day halt to filming while performers are tested and re-tested for the virus. It is believed to have been brought in by Mr. James from Brazil, where he was working on a film in early March.

Ms. Mitchell said Thursday that she had contacted Brazilian health officials to try to trace the virus on the São Paulo film location. She said she believed it was linked to a young actress who had had sex with Mr. James in the film. She declined to name the actress and said her identity had been provided not by Mr. James but by "an outside source."

Ms. Mitchell said she had yet to ascertain whether the Brazilian actress knew that she had the virus at the time she worked with Mr. James.

Health investigators in Los Angeles have obtained the legal names and medical files of about 65 performers here who were known to have had sexual contact with Mr. James and Ms. Roxx, or with someone else who had sex with them. The investigation will presumably now be expanded to include anyone who had sexual contact with Ms. Dee.

Mr. James is believed to have worked with 12 actresses in Los Angeles after his return from Brazil. He was tested for H.I.V. immediately, but the result was negative. A later test was positive.

The pornography industry, which is based nationally in the San Fernando Valley, turns out some 4,000 films and videos a year in the shadow of Hollywood and brings in $5 billion to $9 billion a year, economists here say. The higher number almost equals the amount brought in by mainstream studio and independent films last year in the United States and Canada.

The moratorium on filming is to last at least until June 8. About 65 performers have been placed under quarantine, meaning they cannot work until they are cleared. Many other actors have voluntarily agreed to tests beyond the normal once a month.

About 1,200 performers in the industry are monitored once a month for H.I.V., chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. Most tests are conducted at the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation's offices in the Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills neighborhoods.

Health professionals estimate that there are 40,000 new H.I.V. infections around the country every year.



I can see it now:

Long early morning lines at the video store
Odd & even days for downloading
$50 one day rentals
The same Aria sets from 1999

feelgood

Well, quite frankly the pornstar should've knew better. Why?

1. How bout not having sex without condoms?
2. How bout not having anal sex?
3. How bout not having sex with more than 200 people?

All 3 reason are some of the best way to get HIV. I think they're really just a bunch of stupid people looking for a cheap way to make money...

__________________
Looking out the window, that's an act of war. Staring at my shoes, that's an act of war. Committing an act of war? Oh you better believe that's an act of war

tisonlyi

and you never look at porn do you?

nice high horse you have there.

__________________
"I do not agree that the dog in a manger has the final right to the manger even though he may have lain there for a very long time. I do not admit that right. I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place." - Winston Churchill, 1937 --{ORLY?}--

Nisses

tisonlyi: I guess he likes the weather up there

__________________
Moderation should be moderately moderated.

sexymama

200 people -- wow, I have LOTS and LOTS to go!

__________________
If you can go deeply into lovemaking, the ego disappears. That is the beauty of lovemaking, that it is another source of a glimpse of god

It's not about being perfect; it's about developing some skill at managing imperfection.

Polyphobic

No anal sex?
*goes to the bathroom and pouts*

__________________
<--The great infidel-->

kulrblind

I can't believe nobody asked for a picture of this Jessica Dee (though, this might not be the same one)



edit: upon further googling, this is probably her:

NSFW SO DON'T CLICK IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE NAKEDNESS

http://www.divxxx.biz/stars/jessica_dee.html

ratbastid

I'm sorry, feelsgood, but that's a painfully ignorant and uncompassionate response to what amounts to a very public tragedy for a handful of people.

I've been following this story with a fair amount of morbid curiosity. Turns out the system for keeping porn clean is this: if you want to work, you get a monthly HIV test at the Adult Industry Medical (AIM) office. They keep records on who's been tested and when, and they keep up with who's "worked" with whom. You show up on set with your most recent clean bill of health, and you show it to everybody who asks (somebody from the production company and all your fellow actors, most likely).

Within hours of Darren James' positive test, AIM had lists of people in the first and second generations of exposure (the "quarantine" list referred to in this article), and called each of those people in for tests.

A lot of people have been pointing fingers at AIM and Dr. Sharon Mitchell, the porn star turned sexual health advocate who runs it, since the outbreak. But the thing is, AIM has kept the industry clean since 1999, when Tony Montana contracted HIV. And that was the only infection since 1996, when AIM was founded.

Solutions? Well, one option is to supplement monthly blood testing with weekly testing using the faster but less reliable methods now available. Although those tests may not show HIV antibodies until 3 to 6 months after exposure, there is a chance that infection may be caught earlier, and it's almost certainly worth the cost. Just ask the three performers (so far) who will be living with HIV for the rest of their lives.

In the meantime, porn companies have suspended filming for 60 days until everybody on the first- and second-generation lists can get tested twice. Some companies have pledged to institute all-condoms-all-the-time policies, which can only be good for safe sex acceptance in the country at large.

Holo

But really boring porn. Sorry, but I really dont' like watching safe sex porn. If I have casual sex I have to be safe myself as it is, so why the hell would I want to fantasize while watching other ppl go thru the reduced stimulation and general annoyance condoms bring to the bedroom?


I use porn as a enhancer to my imagination, and I don't wanna fantasize about getting a hot chick with a restrictive piece of latex wrapped around my rascal. It's worse than watching guys jerk off on a hot girl's face instead of actually getting off in her or letting her do it. I accept the reality and necessity of condoms in casual sex (tho I haven't had to use condoms for almost 7 years now) but I refuse to bring them into my fantasy world ala visual stimulation.

Str8 porn will now have the same market gay porn does now..."bareback" pr0n will now be very expensive and older vids will get the price jacked up on them. I fully understand HIV is a fucked up disease and they need to protect themselves a better way than this. Perhaps have better contracts for the performers that include a no sex outside of the business or provide test results of all partners in the last month. Maybe refuse to give work to free agent stars that can go to Brazil and get HIV and spread it to stars here as was the case here. I have heard about stars making agreements with one another to only have sex with each other to avoid HIV, and of course there are husband and wives doing scenes exclusively with one another. There are better alternatives to this, and I hope they don't go down this road. Next they'll have dental dams in Lez films...

__________________
I happen to like the words "fuck", "cock", "pussy", "tits", "cunt", "twat", "shit" and even "bitch". As long as I am not using them to describe you, don't go telling me whether or not I can/should use them...that is, if you want me to continue refraining from using them to describe you. ~Prince

User Name

Aria only does girl-on-girl shoots, so she's safe.

HamiC

Well done, ratbastid. Well done.

kutulu

I don't get how seeing that the dude is wearing a condom changes anything about the eroticism or visual stimulation.

I also prefer facials. I like seeing the girl with a messy face.

Holo

becuase porn is supposed to represent "unreality", i.e. Sex without consequences. I mean how many pornos do you see where the star gets knocked up as part of plot? Unless it's a preg fetish film I've never once seen this in a plot or a scene. You don't see it for the same reason I don't wanna see rubbers in porn. It just makes it look too real as in consequences for sexual activity. I wanna see raw genital contact personally, not be edutained with my cock in my hand about safe sex.



And I'm so over facials it's not even funny. Come up with something new to finish a scene please, porn industry. At least ban the man from jerking his cock to finish it off. Nothing is worse of a turnoff than this. If I wanted to see a man play with himself I would get gay solo vids.

/derail.

__________________
I happen to like the words "fuck", "cock", "pussy", "tits", "cunt", "twat", "shit" and even "bitch". As long as I am not using them to describe you, don't go telling me whether or not I can/should use them...that is, if you want me to continue refraining from using them to describe you. ~Prince

Skettios

Poor girl.

Hope she gets the Magic Johnson kind of HIV, not the 'Philadelphia' kind.

__________________
Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.

Frederich Nietzsche

brianna

holo: i'm not sure how you can justify putting people's lives at risk for the sake of your enhanced fantasy life. I think that the porn consumer should be willing to allow their favorite actors and actresses to protect themselves. as things stand now girls* are paid *more* for shooting without a condom a practice that may be financially lucrative but that is essentially asking an actress to put a price on the value of being healthy. i don't think that's sexy.


*i assume this increased payment is directed towards the women because women are more likely than men to contract HIV from heterosexual sex.

Fenton-J-Cool

Say what?

__________________
wra