Stormont department of agriculture chiefs said today that a botulism outbreak in cattle in Northern Ireland posed no risk to the public.
The disease has been discovered in 90 farms in the past three and a half years, a department spokeswoman confirmed today.
But Dr Bob McCracken, Northern Ireland's Chief Veterinary Officer, insisted that there was no potential danger of the disease being passed on to humans.
"A number of farms in Northern Ireland have recently experienced problems with their cattle and there have been some deaths which we think may be due to poisoning by the Botulinum toxin," he said.
"The particular type we believe we are dealing with in Northern Ireland (Type C) is believed not to pose any risk to man," he added.
Dr McCracken said his department was working closely with the Food Standards Agency and had advised the farmers affected to withhold milk and beef cattle from human consumption for the time being.
But he denied claims that humans could become infected by consuming products from infected animals.
"It is quite untrue to claim that people can be harmed by eating meat or drinking milk from animals with botulism.
"Furthermore, this is not an issue that is unique in any way to Northern Ireland. There have been cases of botulism in cattle elsewhere in the UK, Ireland and across Europe."
The alarm was raised after a farm in Lurgan, Co Armagh, reported that 10 animals had died, with another 10 showing symptoms of the disease.
Other cases have been reported near Ballymena, Co Antrim and Dungannon, Co Tyrone.
PA