Porn film production 'must stop in Los Angeles' after actor tests positive for HIV

The industry's trade body issued the moratorium on Friday

A picture taken on January 12, 2011 shows sex shops at the Paris district of Pigalle. (LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images)

A Californian group representing the adult film industry has called for professionals to temporarily stop filming in Los Angeles County, after an actor tested positive for HIV.

The Free Speech Coalition called for the moratorium on Thursday. Its CEO, Diane Duke, said the unidentified performer is undergoing further tests to confirm the diagnoses.

In a bid to stop the disease spreading, the coalition is urging that production halt.

“There was a positive test at one of our testing centers. Confirmatory tests are not yet back, but we are taking every precaution to protect performers and to determine if there’s been any threat to the performer pool,” Duke said.

“We take the health of our performers very seriously and felt that it was better to err on the side of caution.”

The non-profit trade association was founded in 1991, and aims to lead, protect and support the growth and well-being of the adult entertainment community, according to its website.

While the organisation's moratoriums are not legally binding, the industry generally complies with its requests.

The case is the first to be reported since three performers contracted HIV in 2013.

Last summer, the Coalition called a week-long stoppage after actress Cameron Bay and her boyfriend, fellow adult film actor Rod Daily, tested positive for the virus, the LA Times reported.

A second moratorium was issued after a third performer tested positive for the sexually transmitted disease, and filming resumed in September. At the time, new protocols were introduced which required performers to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases once a fortnight - up from every 28 days.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has called the case a “tragic” repeat of last year.

The organisation’s comments come after it successfully campaigned for performers to be legally required to wear condoms during shoots in the county of Los Angeles – a measure which the Free Speech Coaltion strongly opposed.

Since the legislation, called Measure B, the number of permits issued for porn productions in the county - considered to be the spiritual home of pornography - has plummeted by 90 per cent between 2012 and 2013 to a total of 40, according to the Film LA permit organisation.

A similar proposal pending in the state Legislature was shelved earlier this month.