WITH the confirmation of two more cases of BSE, one in Louth and one in Monaghan, eight counties have now exceeded the acceptable level of incidence of the disease set by Russia when announcing its selective ban on the importation of Irish beef in October.
The three month ban, which came into effect on November 1st, Prevented the importation to Russia of beef from Cork, Tipperary, and Monaghan. The ban is to be reviewed towards the end of next month. More than £260 million of Irish beef was sold to Russia in 1996.
At the time of the ban's announcement there had been 10 confirmed cases of BSE in Cork, and four each in Tipperary and Monaghan. The Russians based their decision on the number of cases confirmed this year in each county.
However, in five other counties the numbers of confirmed instances of the disease have equalled or exceeded that base of four since then, and there have been increases in the numbers - confirmed for Cork, Tipperary, and Monaghan.
As of last night the end of year total was 14 for Cork, eight for Tipperary, and seven for Monaghan. Monaghan has been overtaken by Wexford, which has had eight cases confirmed in 1996.
Wexford, which is the constituency of the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, was not included in the Russian ban, though the number of confirmed BSE cases there at the time of the ban's announcement was four - the same as in Tipperary and Monaghan.
Five cases of BSE have been confirmed in both Donegal and Meath this year, while four cases have been confirmed in both Cavan and Limerick.
In all, 73 cases of the disease - have been confirmed in the Republic during 1996, compared to 16 in 1995. The total since BSE was first confirmed here in 1989 is 188, out of a herd of 7.4 million.
Since 1989 there have been almost 170,000 confirmed cases of the disease in Britain, while in the North the figure has been 5,000 over the same period (1,733 in 1996, up to mid November).
The apparently high level of incidence of the disease in Cork is believed to be related to its herd size. More than a quarter of the State's beef population is to be found in that county, while there are 4,000 herd owners in north, Tipperary alone.
Both of the latest cases involved cows which were six years old. The Co Louth cow was part of a dairy herd of 198, while the Co Monaghan cow belonged to a suckler herd of 37. Both cows' have been slaughtered and were buried on their respective farms.
The herds will be slaughtered early in the new year, as soon as a price is agreed with the owners and rendering plants are back in operation after the holiday period, a Department of Agriculture spokesman said.
