Authorities in the United States sent alarm bells ringing by informing over 200 persons involved in purported "risky business" with an HIV positive sex worker.
US HIV positive sex worker row: Where are infected individuals?
Police said that most of Leccesse's clients since January 1, 2022 live in Marietta, a city in southeast Ohio bordering the state of West Virginia.
"Marietta/Belpre Health Department is a judgment-free zone with full confidentiality," said Barbara Bradley, health department administrator.
She was indicted for engaging in solicitation after a positive HIV test, a third-degree felony.
Authorities in the United States sent alarm bells ringing by informing over 200 persons involved in purported "risky business" with an HIV positive sex worker. The 30-year-old allegedly came in contact with hundreds of clients despite knowing that she was HIV-positive.
The woman, identified as Linda Leccesse, allegedly had 211 clients from different states across the US since January 1, 2022. This was around the time, the police claim, she got her HIV test results.
Leccesse found her HIV results as positive, New York Post reported.
US HIV positive sex worker row: Where are infected individuals?
Police said that most of Leccesse's clients since January 1, 2022 live in Marietta, a city in southeast Ohio bordering the state of West Virginia.
The potentially infected people are believed to be living across the East Coast.
"This case could stem anywhere from Florida up the East Coast, but there are local individuals that we will be reaching out to," Washington County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mark Warden said in a press conference last week.
What next?
The police started informing Leccesse's clients to alert them about the situation.
"They are not in trouble. This is public health awareness. This is not a scam," Warden said.
The Marietta and Belpre Health Department requested people who may have come in contact with Leccesse to be "brutally honest" with officials about the history of their sexual partners.
"Marietta/Belpre Health Department is a judgment-free zone with full confidentiality," said Barbara Bradley, health department administrator. Bradley added that Leccesse's clients who may have had sexual contact with others were vulnerable to "risky business".
Also watch | WION Wideangle| Sex work: Should prostitution be legal? × On May 13, Leccessee was arrested for soliciting sex. After her arrest, the police came to know that she had been HIV-positive for over two years and that she knew about her condition.
She was indicted for engaging in solicitation after a positive HIV test, a third-degree felony.
