This week it is five years since I started commenting here on MikeSouth. I came out of the gate shouting from rooftops that the blame game was hurting not helping performers. I stand by that opinion today with gratitude the FSC, PASS etc have moved past the days of naming, shaming and blaming performers diagnosed with a known occupational risk.

As soon as the performer is named the focus shifts to THEM as the risk; eliminating the opportunity for experienced performers to inform performers who haven’t been around long enough to remember 30 day moratoria, when PrEP wasn’t an option and waiting days not hours for test results. It’s a time for every performer to get quiet and compare their actual behaviors to the standards they profess and if necessary recommit to doing all they can to minimize risks to themselves and their partners.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6505a3.htm

That publication traces a series of events that led to an on-set HIV transmission in 2014. The performer was tested with the current industry testing panel and the set the transmission happened on was following accepted industry protocols…it was a window positive.