People in Scotland who have travelled to countries affected by the Zika outbreak will be banned from giving blood for 28 days from tomorrow.
It comes after NHS Blood and Transplant said that "safety of the blood supply is paramount" and a similar ban is in place across the rest of the UK to ensure that the virus is not passed on.
When a person gives blood they are asked a series of questions including their recent travel history.
South of the Border, the NHS already has a series of "deferrals" in place for people returning home from areas affected by tropical illnesses - including a number of countries at the centre of the current outbreak.
This list has now been extended to include all countries affected by the Zika outbreak.
Officials said that the move was a "precautionary measure".
"The safety of the blood supply is paramount and it is important we implement any precautionary blood safety measures agreed here as a result of an increasing prevalence of infectious diseases found around the globe," an NHS Blood and Transplant spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has advised that any pregnant women in the UK who test positive for Zika should have additional scans to monitor the health of their babies.
Expectant mothers usually have scans when they are 12 and 20 weeks pregnant but any pregnant women with a confirmed case of the virus should be scanned every four weeks, RCOG said.
Professor Alan Cameron, vice president for clinical quality at the professional body, said: "We fully support the advice that pregnant women should consider avoiding travelling to countries where Zika virus outbreaks are ongoing, in order to reduce the potential risk to their babies.
"Pregnant women who must travel, or choose to travel, to a country with active Zika virus transmission should take all necessary precautions to minimise the chances of mosquito bites. Insect repellents with concentrations of DEET up to 50 per cent are commonly available and are safe for pregnant women."
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