Five new Irish cases of BSE were diagnosed by the Department of Agriculture and Food in July - two more than in the corresponding month last year.
The total number of cases diagnosed so far this year is 44, which is nine more than in the first seven months of last year and would seem to indicate a rising pattern. It now appears certain that the number of cases of BSE for this year will exceed last year's total of 83.
Traditionally, more cases are recorded in the autumn and winter months than in summertime. There is some evidence that the disease becomes more apparent during the late stages of pregnancy and after calving.
However, in terms of total infection in the national herd of over seven million cattle, the figures are very low - the State has had only 396 cases of the disease since 1989, when it was first diagnosed here.
The animals involved have come from herds in Clare, Kerry, Cork, Cavan and Meath, and all but one case came from dairy herds.
The youngest cow diagnosed was from a dairy herd in Co Clare, where there were 205 animals. The Kerry case was in a six-year-old cow from a dairy herd of 89 animals.
The Cork BSE case was from a dairy herd of 138 animals and she was born in 1993. The Meath cow was also born in 1993 and came from a dairy herd of 129 animals.
All animals on the farms where the infected cows were diagnosed will now be slaughtered and rendered into bonemeal. The brains of animals which may have been at risk will be sent for analysis.
Over the past 11 years this re-examination of herds where diseased animals have been detected has come up with an additional 10 cases in what are known as "cohort" animals.
It was reported earlier this week in the Irish Farmers' Journal that there has been a huge build-up of meat and bonemeal stocks in the Republic because of the dioxin crisis in Belgium.
Most Irish processed meat and bonemeal from rendered animals was being sold to Belgium and the Netherlands, but in the past month demand for the product has dropped and Irish renderers are being offered £35 per tonne, half of the price before the scare.
The disruption of the trade could mean farmers will be asked to pay more to have dead animals removed from their lands. However, many farmers are likely to avoid these charges by burying animals on their lands.