Fielding said the county lacks sufficient information to delve deeply into the cases and still has received no formal report on the most recent case.
"The system we have and the laws we have do not facilitate the kind of contact tracing and verification that we'd like to see," Fielding said. "AIDS has been treated separately from other STDs."
State laws allow the county to make partner notification for diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. In HIV cases, the responsibility for notification rests with the medical clinic or doctor, not the county, Fielding said. Clinic officials said the woman had two recent male sexual partners, who in turn had six additional partners between them. All so far have tested HIV negative, according to the clinic.
Fielding said the rate of sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhea among adult performers is high and that any cases of HIV are to be taken seriously.
"Is what's being done better than nothing? Absolutely," Fielding said of the voluntary testing conducted by the porn industry. "Is it what should be done and what is required in today's world of occupational safety? Absolutely not. . . . To have, in 2009, an occupational hazard that's preventable and subjects individuals to life-threatening diseases is outrageous."
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kimi.yoshino@latimes.com
ron.lin@latimes.com
