New Mexico health officials are ordering physicians and other medical professionals to step up screening of pregnant women for syphilis. The state Department of Health says an order issued Friday is intended to prevent prevent congenital syphilis. That's a disease that occurs when a mother with sexually transmitted syphilis passes the infection on to her baby during pregnancy. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that congenital syphilis has increased annually in the US since 2012. Under the order, medical professionals must test all pregnant women in their first and third trimesters and again at delivery.
Health officials: Screening more pregnant women for syphilis
