HIV scare halts porn filming in US

Los Angeles - US porn moviemakers have suspended production after an actor reportedly tested HIV positive, the latest Aids scare to hit the multi-billion-dollar industry, a trade body said on Wednesday.

The California-based US adult film industry is voluntarily complying with a call for a moratorium, even though the new HIV case - which follows that of another actor last year, triggering a shut-down - has not been confirmed.

The Free Speech Coalition, a trade group, said it learned of a possible HIV exposure at the weekend, and has called for an industry-wide moratorium "to err on the side of caution and to eliminate any possible risk to performers".

"The incident occurred outside of California; however, the Los Angeles production community has voluntarily submitted to the moratorium as an appropriate response to the current situation," it said in a blog update.

"At this point there is nothing to suggest that the occurrence has affected the Los Angeles-based industry, but producers, agents and performers are cooperating in order to uphold health and safety protocols," it added.

Suspended

Porn film producers including industry leaders like Vivid Entertainment are referring media queries about the suspension to the LA-based Free Speech Coalition, which counts them as members.

Last year at least four major film producers suspended filming for several weeks from October after a porn actor, 24-year-old Derrick Burts, tested positive for the HIV virus which causes Aids.

In December, a clinic for actors in the lucrative industry, based in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles, was ordered closed after Burts blasted it for failing to help him properly.

The Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM) lacked the correct license to operate as a medical clinic, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The HIV case was the first in over a year in the industry, and comes six years after up to 14 actors tested HIV positive, forcing several film firms to close.