Travellers coming back to Scotland from tropical holidays have been barred from donating blood for 28 days due to the Zika virus.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion (SNBT) service said the new rule would come into effect on February 5.

The 28-day period already applies to those visiting many tropical countries, but Barbados, Fiji and Curaco have now also been added to the list due to the Zika virus being considered endemic in those countries.

The move follows the same ban being introduced by blood services in England and Wales from Thursday.

The Zika virus is mosquito-borne but can also be transferred sexually. It has been linked to microcephaly in babies, an abnormal smallness of the skull.

Symptoms are similar to other viral infections and can last between two and seven days.

SNBTS medical director, professor Marc Turner, said: "The safety of the blood supply is of paramount importance to us and the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service will implement the precautionary blood safety measures agreed by the UK Blood Services.

"We are in the process of putting in place a deferral for people who have travelled to those countries where the Zika virus is endemic, which will come into effect from Friday, February 5.

"Travel to many of these countries already brings at least a 28-day blood donation deferral because of either malaria or other tropical virus risk.

"As a result, we do not expect this change to significantly impact upon the number of people who can donate following travel abroad."

The full list of countries is:

American Samoa

Barbados

Bolivia

Borneo

Brazil

Brunei

Cape Verde Islands

Colombia

Costa Rica

Curacao

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

French Guiana

Fiji

Guadeloupe

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Martinique

Mexico

New Caledonia

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Puerto Rico

Saint Martin

Samoa

Solomon Islands

Suriname

US Virgin Islands

Vanuatu

Venezuela