Porn actor calls for condom use after getting HIV

Derek Burts was known as "Patient Zeta" until he recently came forward

An adult film actor in LA who has HIV says he wishes he had known more about the risks involved in having unprotected sex.

Derek Burts was told he was infected in October and all the actors he'd worked with since his last negative HIV test were said to be quarantined and tested.

He says he caught the infection in Florida during a gay porn shoot.

But a clinic released a statement claiming he got it "through private personal activity".

The porn industry in California, which is the largest of its kind, became increasingly worried.

'Patient Zeta'

Adult film companies stopped making movies while clinics tried to trace the origins of the HIV infection.

Derek was known as "Patient Zeta" and only recently came forward with his real name as the man who tested positive and put the industry in a state of panic.

"Making $10,000 (£6,319) or $15,000 (£9,479) for porn isn't worth your life. Performers need to be educated," he said.

The 24-year-old actor is now calling for the compulsory use of condoms in porn films.

The $13 billion (£8.2bn) industry requests its actors have monthly blood tests but wearing a condom on set isn't mandatory.

Steve Hirsch is the founder of Vivid Entertainment, the world's biggest adult film production company.

He says: "If you mandate condoms, this industry will go underground immediately."

The argument is that many viewers don't like seeing latex on screen because it's not sexy.

Some actors have said they don't enjoy the feeling of wearing a condom and it puts them off their performance.

'Very dangerous'

But doctors say the risk of catching a sexually transmitted infection (STI) is higher for those working in porn and wearing a condom shouldn't be an option, but compulsory.

Dr Robert Kim Farley is a director at the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.

He says: "We strongly feel that condom use should be required in this industry.

"Just like a construction worker wouldn't go into a construction site without a hard hat, an adult industry performer shouldn't be having sexual acts without a condom."

Derek wants the industry to educate actors about what could happen without the use of sexual protection.

"It's very dangerous," he said. "It should be required that you wear a condom on the set."

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