The whole premise seems weak to me. If a person tests clean and then has sex with a few dozen untested people before the next test…
So is there data about this?
Even data about what percentage pass or fail the tests?
I’m sure it’s come up now and then in Nevada.
All sex-workers in Nevada use condoms, so that offers a bit more of a safety factor. I’m sure the Nvada dept. of Health has the figures. Whether or not you can access them is the question.
Yes, this subject does come up every so often in Nevada.
Yes, the testing is effective.
I’m sure you can find the hard numbers if you search hard enough or make a couple of phone calls. Let us know what you find out, would you?
Here’s a quote from the state epidemiologist: “In an average year in the brothels, we might see, statewide, a dozen or two dozen cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia combined, and we have seen no syphilis cases at all in several years"
Also, paraphrasing him, “Since the state began testing brothel workers for HIV in the 1980s, Todd says, not one “working girl” has tested positive, though the pre-employment health screening has kept 26 HIV-positive women from brothel work during that time”
They don’t test for herpes or HPV.
Why not? I am unfamiliar with the workings of HPV, but you would think Herpes would be something they test for, as it can be present and contagious without being visible to the naked (heh) eye and without irritating the carrier.
I’m not sure, just got that from reading the article. Maybe reliable tests weren’t available when the laws were written?
My guess would be that it’s just because herpes is so extremely common, that it’s just assumed that most highly sexually-active folks (both the prostitutes and their clients) likely already have it anyway.
That would definitely be true for HPV as well. Also, those tests may be expensive, and from the linked articles the women pay for the tests themselves. Since those conditions can’t be cured (although HPV can go away by itself) it would be writing off a lot more workers. Although there might be a business model in providing the additional tests. I’ll keep that in mind in the unlikely event I open a brothel.
Well. no. Only the legal ones do. Which excludes Las Vegas (Clark county), the most populous area of Nevada, and the area with the most visitors. And it’s fairly common for customers of illegal prostitutes to ask them not to use a condom, claiming that it ‘deadens sensation’. And the working girls will often do so, for a higher price.
Also, the effectiveness of the testing procedure is clouded because of the exclusion of the Las Vegas area.
Presumably, though, the testing done on the legal prostitutes is effective in ensuring the safety of the legal brothels? Obviously the illegal prostitutes will slip through the cracks, but is that relevant to the legal ones?
Hopefully my technical jargon won’t confuse anyone. The prostitutes also examine their Johns junk to see if there are any possible problems and follow that up with a quick wash. I understand this isn’t a reliable method of preventing the spread of STDs but it’s part of a bigger plan that includes regular testing and condom use. Uh, not that I know first hand.
Odesio