The eight new cases of BSE found in the national herd this week brings to 176 the number of cases of the disease found so far this year, writes Seán MacConnell, Agriculture Correspondent.
Of the eight cases disclosed during the week, three were found on farms and the remaining five were identified at knackeries under the active surveillance scheme.
Four of the cases were seven-year-olds from herds in Louth, Cavan, Clare and Kerry. There were two eight-year-olds from herds in Roscommon and Louth; an 11-year-old cow was found in Tipperary and a 16-year-old from a dairy herd in Sligo.
The Department stressed that the underlying trend remained positive and the increasing age profile of animals confirmed with the disease was evidence that enhanced controls introduced in 1996 and early 1997 were proving effective.
It said the incidence of the disease was expected to decline as older animals worked their way out of the national herd.