Ireland confirms first two cases of Zika virus in man and woman

The cases are not said to be related, and both involve people who have travelled to the Zika-affected region

The Irish health service has confirmed the country's first two cases of the Zika virus, two days after it was declared a global health emergency by the WHO.

The cases are unrelated, involving a man and a woman, and both come after the patients travelled to areas of Latin America affected by the outbreak.

The WHO declaration specifically refers to the suspected link to a cluster of microcephaly cases, or babies born with abnormally small heads - but a spokeswoman for the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) said neither case involved "a risk of pregnancy".

Both patients are said to be currently well and fully recovered from the virus, which displays minor symptoms if any in most cases.

The HSE said the newly-discovered Zika cases in Ireland are "not an unexpected event" as many other European countries have reported cases as a result of people travelling to affected areas.

On Tuesday night, the US reported its first known case of Zika being transmitted within the country through sexual contact.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said a patient in Texas had been infected with the virus after sex with an a person who returned from a Zika-affected country.

The virus is usually spread through mosquito bites, but investigators have been exploring the possibility it can also be spread through sex.