This has been the worst year on record for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the Irish herd, it emerged last night with the publication of the December figures.
These statistics showed that the 10 new cases diagnosed in December brought to 83 the total of BSE-infected cows found in the State this year.
Last year there were three fewer cases and in the previous year, 1996, which was a crisis year for the European beef industry, there were 74 cases. Department of Agriculture officials last night pointed out that the infection rate in the Republic of Ireland is very low given the fact that there are 7.8 million cattle in Ireland, an infection rate of 1:100,000 animals.
"The number of cases we have had in Ireland in the last nine years is only 352. That figure is equal to what the British authorities were finding in a single week when the disease was at its height in that country," said a veterinary source.
Britain, where the disease was first identified, has had nearly 200,000 cases of BSE since 1985 but has managed to reduce the number of cases this year to under 3,000.
Nevertheless, the continuing level of infection in the Irish herd continues to create a problem for beef exporters who cannot claim BSE-free status until the disease has been eradicated here.
The latest cases were found in Cavan (3), Wexford (3), Cork (1), Meath (1), Tipperary (1) and Galway (1).
Six of the animals were five years old, three were six years old and one was a seven-year-old.
The fact that the youngest victims were five years old was welcomed in veterinary circles and may indicate a falling off in the numbers which will be found next year.
Experts believe the disease will disappear from the Irish herd in about three years when the last animals to have been fed on contaminated cattle rations are diagnosed.
The British authorities had expected to be rid of the disease by 2000 but they discovered that cross-contamination of cattle rations had continued at mills where pig and poultry rations were being processed by the same rollers.
Two years ago, following advice from the British authorities, Ireland moved to separate pig and poultry feed processing and now the plants are dedicated ones and are not allowed to mix the processing.
This should eliminate the main cause of the disease unless farmers feed pig and poultry rations to their cattle, which could perpetuate BSE.