The number of cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) so far this year has dropped to four, a 75 per cent reduction on the same period last year.
The fall has reflected the continuing drop in cases of the disease since 2002 when the State recorded its highest number of cases, 333, in a single year.
Last year there were 41 cases of the disease and there were 69 cases for the year 2005, with 126 cases in 2004 and 182 cases in 2003.
The continuing fall in the number of cases and the fact that those being identified have been found in a subset of older cows, has led to increased calls for less screening for the disease in younger animals.
All cattle over 30 months old being slaughtered for human consumption have to be tested for the disease which was first identified in Britain in the mid 1980s.
Cases of the disease here are identified using traditional "passive surveillance" and under the "active surveillance" programme.
Over 3.52 million tests were carried out up to the end of 2005 under the active surveillance programme and over 845,000 tests were carried out during 2006.