Porn Industry Lifts Production Ban, Increases STD Testing
The adult film industry is lifting its production moratorium and increasing the frequency of STD testing. (Credit: Getty Images)
The adult film industry has announced it will lift its latest moratorium on porn production this Friday, because its actors are no longer at risk for contracting HIV on set after a recent scare.
Three porn actors tested positive for HIV in the past month, prompting two industry shutdowns. The first shutdown lasted a week and ended on Aug. 28. Then, two more actors tested positive, prompting the second shutdown on Sept. 6.
The Free Speech Coalition, which is the porn industry trade group, said the actors didn't contract HIV on set or pass it to their partners during filming.
Click here to read about the debated fourth HIV-positive porn actor.
However, the industry will increase how frequently it requires testing for sexually transmitted diseases.
"Our industry protocols are designed to be conservative, and our doctors support a conservative approach, for the health and well-being of the performers," Diane Duke, the coalition's CEO, said in a statement. "While the increased testing will further ensure safer sets, it is important that we remain vigilant. Going forward, we need to constantly look to both performers, producers and health care professionals to find ways to improve our protocols."
Read about what porn actor Cameron Bay had to say following her diagnosis.
Read about porn actor Rod Daily's twitter announcement of his HIV-positive status.
Instead of requiring performers to undergo STD testing once every 28 days, the coalition will now require them to undergo testing every 14 days, according to The Associated Press.
People who contract HIV do not test positive right away, even though they have the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, it takes 25 days after contracting HIV to actually test positive for it on standard antibody tests, according to the CDC. Although 97 percent of people with HIV test positive within the first three months of contracting it, in rare cases it can take up to six months to test positive.
According to the porn industry, the HIV tests it uses can theoretically detect an HIV infection sooner than standard antibody tests because they are searching for the actual virus rather than the antibodies it triggers.
"The test we use is called an Aptima HIV-1RNA Qualitative Assay, which has a seven-10 day window," said Free Speech Coalition spokeswoman Joanne Cachapero. "Obviously, this greatly shortens the amount of time needed to wait before potential diagnosis."
But the test is "not meant to be used as a stan-alone test for the diagnosis" of HIV, according to the Food and Drug Administration, which recommends following up with an antibody test to confirm.