LOS ANGELES — Free Speech Coalition's APHSS program issued an important update on syphilis treatment and testing for adult industry performers late Wednesday.
Testing and treatment is available at Cutting Edge Testing in Van Nuys. Treatment also is now being offered at their Fort Lauderdale, Fla., location. VegasSTDTesting.com also is offering treatments starting this Friday. Please, contact these facilities to make sure they are able to provide you with treatment prior to your visit.
For production businesses or groups of performers, we also have concierge doctor’s service, which can be arranged through Dr. Darcy. Darcy will be available in San Francisco this Thursday and Friday. And he is available to administer shots in San Diego as well. His contact information is (310) 351.8814; please, call for an appointment.
If you are located outside of the areas of Los Angeles, San Francisco or Fort Lauderdale and you need assistance, contact Joanne@freespeechcoalition.com.
This recommended treatment is VOLUNTARY; APHSS advises every performer to check with producers they are working with for company policies, and also consult with a physician if they have concerns or reservations. Healthcare professionals will be available at Cutting Edge Testing and Vegas STD Testing to discuss treatment/testing options.
Performer options for work availability are:
1) Get the shot/preventative treatment* from an APHSS clinic
2) Get the shot/preventative treatment from another doctor and have them fill out the APHSS treatment form
3) Wait 90 days and get a negative syphilis test (November 15).
*For those allergic to penicillin and taking shots, reimbursements a available by sending a receipt for the medication and contact information.
The treatments that are being offered are as follows (to get details of each medication, click on the name):
- Bicillin LA, which is available as an one-time injection http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-3768-Bicillin+L-A+IM.aspx?drugid=3768&drugname=Bicillin+L-A+IM
For those allergic to penicillin:
- Doxycycline, 100 mg BID #28 (1 pill twice a day for 14 days) http://www.drugs.com/doxycycline.html
- Azithromycin, 500mg (4 tablets all at one time) http://www.drugs.com/azithromycin.html
To clarify, the course of treatment offered by APHSS-recommended facilities was chosen due to several factors.
First, while APHSS is aware of only two confirmed cases of performers that have tested positive for syphilis, various media have reported that Los Angeles County Public Health has identified as many as 9 cases.
Neither Talent Testing Services (TTS) nor Los Angeles County Public Health (LACPH) is obligated (and indeed is prevented by HIPAA patient privacy regulations) to share confidential patient information with APHSS. But with patient permission, APHSS’ doctors’ network can initiate and implement a comprehensive partner notification process. FSC has reached out to both TTS and LACPH. TTS has declined our offer and, as of yet, LACPH has failed to respond. Therefore, APHSS is unable to contact these allegedly positive performers in order to initiate industry protocols. The performers that APHSS has confirmed came forward on their own, in order to cooperate with industry protocols and for help with treatment.
Also, the regular test for syphilis, an RPR test, has a very large window period of 90 days, meaning that it may take 90 days for a new infection to be detected by the test. At that point, another confirmatory test must be administered in order to determine if the infection is active and levels of viral load. With no baseline of information for the identities of these cases reported by LACPH, it is impossible to determine when they may have been infected or if they may have been working during the time they were infected.
For the safety of all performers, we would rather err on the side of caution and recommend testing and treatment for everyone, thus alleviating concerns about possible exposure.
Each performer must decide which course of treatment is appropriate for themselves.
Contact info for the participating facilities is as follows:
Cutting Edge Testing – Van Nuys, CA Location
Dr. Peter Miao MD
(818) 386.2132
5000 Van Nuys Blvd. Suite 202, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon–Fri
www.cuttingedgetesting.com
Cutting Edge Testing – Ft. Lauderdale, FL Location
2312 Wilton Dr.
Wilton Manners, FL 33305
(954) 745.6888
Vegas STD Testing (Two Locations)
Southeast Location
500 E. Windmill Lane Suite 115, Las Vegas, NV 89123
Las Vegas, NV 89123
(702) 870.1911
Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Closed
Northwest Location
2051 N. Rainbow Blvd, Suite 100
Las Vegas, NV 89108
(702) 870.1911
Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: Closed
www.VegasSTDTesting.com
