PASS: Reported Chlamydia Uptick Does Not Warrant Production Hold

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—In the midst of widespread concern and confusion among the adult industry talent pool following a Wednesday night Twitter post by testing provider Cutting Edge Testing (CET) calling for "a stop to performing and any other sexual activities as much as possible, due to an extremely high uptick in positive STDs recently," testing oversight organization Performer Availability Screening Services (PASS) issued a statement late Thursday countering that no hold on production is warranted at this time. The full statement from PASS follows: On Friday, February 3, CET contacted PASS to indicate that they had seen a sharp rise in chlamydia infections in recent days. PASS agreed to continue to monitor the situation, and contacted PASS testing partners—Clear, TBD Health, and Mpowerr Health—as well as Talent Testing Services (TTS). None have reported an increase in STIs, including chlamydia. As such, we believe this increase of chlamydia detected by CET to not be attributable to the testing population as a whole, and will not be recommending a production hold at this time. This discrepancy highlights a critical issue for performers. Without data from the industry’s testing providers, it’s impossible for anyone to have a full picture of potential threats. We appreciate that non-PASS testing centers have been forthcoming with data when we’ve requested, as transparency is critical in our decision making.  Based on our conversations with labs, we believe this may be the result of new tests—including swabs—catching infections that may have been missed in December. We encourage adult industry performers to continue utilizing the full PASS Certified performer panel, including oral and anal swabbing, and to get treated immediately, should an infection be detected.  We will update you as we learn more, or if we believe there is a significant threat. We are committed to a landscape of transparency, and care, prioritizing the health and safety of workers at all times.