BSE case brings total to 33 this year

BSE has been detected in another animal born after stricter feed controls were introduced in 1996 and 1997. But a dramatic reduction in the overall number of confirmed cases is continuing.

A five-year-old from a suckler herd in Cavan was one of four cases confirmed this week. The others were two 10-year-olds from dairy herds in Cork and Cavan and an eight-year-old from a suckler herd in Wicklow.

The latest cases bring the total in 2005 to 33, compared with equivalent period figures of 68 last year, 101 in 2003 and 168 in 2002. Since 2001, some 1.75 million cattle born after 1997 have been tested for BSE, with just 13 cases confirmed positive.