LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles County public health official acknowledged Tuesday evening that the agency was inaccurate when it said the 16 unpublicized AIM Healthcare patients diagnosed HIV-positive were actively working as adult performers at the time of their test.

Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county's Health Department director, told the Los Angeles Times that, “We have no information on these individuals. All we have is the number from AIM."

Fielding also corrected the number of unpublicized cases, upward from 16 to 18, reported by AIM.

He told the Times that while AIM is useful, the occupational safety risks in the industry need to be worked on.

“I’m sure that AIM provides a useful service to the degree that they prevent performers from performing when they have sexually transmitted diseases or HIV,” Fielding said. “Is what’s being done better than nothing? Absolutely. Is it what should be done and what is required in today’s world of occupational safety? Absolutely not.

"[T]o have, in 2009, an occupational hazard that’s preventable and subjects individuals to life-threatening diseases is outrageous.”