HIV Scare Shuts Down Porn Sets

An HIV scare shut down porn sets across the San Fernando Valley today after producers learned that a performer tested positive. Diane Duke, head of a porn industry trade group, asked for the moratorium and said the performer is being retested while "first- and second- generation partners" are contacted, the Los Angeles Times reports. The news will likely rekindle debate about health and safety on adult entertainment sets.

As it stands, adult performers must be tested every 30 days, but condoms are not required on set. Performer Derrick Burts tested positive for HIV last year and is now trying to put a measure on LA's June 2012 ballot to mandate condoms in porn. Also at issue is performers' privacy, after a lawsuit alleged that the industry's test result database leaked personal medical information. A new database will only reveal whether performers are ready to work, Duke said. (More pornography stories.)