The discovery of BSE in a five-year-old cow in Donegal has sparked an epidemiological investigation. A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture and Food said this was the first case of an animal born in 2002 which had been found with BSE.
"There have been cases of five-year-old animals in the UK and Germany and we are investigating this one to try and find the source of the infection," he said.
This would involve tracing animals reared with the infected cow, tracing its movements since birth and testing other cattle in the herd.
"My understanding is that this animal was born in Donegal and spent its life there, but the investigation is ongoing," he said.
He added that the controls in place to protect consumers were very stringent and all parts of an animal that might harbour the disease are removed as specified risk material.
He said the total number of BSE cases found so far this year was 17, compared with 36 found for the equivalent period last year. The total number of confirmed cases in 2006 was 41. This compared with 69 for 2005, 126 in 2004, with 182 cases in 2003 and 333 in 2002.
Ireland has not had a case of the disease in a cow so young for some years because it was believed animals suffering from the disease had been coming from older herds exposed to contaminated animal feed before 2000. Most cases emerging are of much older animals and this has led to a dramatic decline in numbers discovered here in recent years.
Meanwhile, the South African government has lifted its ban on the importation of Irish beef which began in 2001. In the five years prior to the closure of the market, because of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopaty (BSE) crisis, exports averaged 18,000 tonnes and were valued at €57 million.
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Mary Coughlan welcomed the decision to lift the ban. She said the market was being reopened under the conditions recommended by South African experts who visited Ireland last April.
Ms Coughlan said this positive news was the result of intensive efforts at political, diplomatic and technical level and her department and the Irish Embassy in Pretoria have been working very closely on this issue for a number of years.
"This is a very welcome decision as South Africa has been a traditional market for Irish beef. The decision by the competent authorities in South Africa to reopen their market to Irish beef was taken following a detailed examination of the rigorous controls applied and reflects the high standards of food safety controls in place in Ireland," Ms Coughlan said.