Ireland probing two confirmed cases of Zika virus

Ireland said on Tuesday that the first two confirmed cases of the Zika virus in the country are currently being investigated by its Health Service Executive (HSE).

One case is a male and the other is an older woman, it said, adding that both individuals have recovered from the infection.

They both have a history of travel to a Zika-affected country, according to the HSE, which provides all of Ireland's public health services in hospitals and communities across the country.

But the HSE said the two cases are unrelated.

It also said neither of the confirmed cases in Ireland is "at risk of pregnancy."

In May 2015, Brazil reported its first case of Zika virus disease. Since then, the disease has spread within Brazil and to 22 other countries and territories in the region.

According to the World Health Organization, the arrival of the virus in some countries of the Americas, notably Brazil, has been associated with a steep increase in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads and in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a poorly understood condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, sometimes resulting in paralysis. Enditem