Hopes arose today that Northern Ireland's foot-and-mouth outbreak may have been contained.
Preliminary results from a suspected sheep in County Tyrone proved negative, Northern Agriculture Minister Ms Brid Rodgers said today. But more tests will have to be carried out before it is finally confirmed.
So far there has only been one confirmed outbreak of the disease in the North on a farm in South Armagh after a lorry load of sheep arrived last month from an infected market in Cumbria.
There were fears that the disease may have spread to a farm near Augher, in County Tyrone, after one sheep was found with symptoms of the virus.
Mrs Rodgers said: "I am delighted that this initial is negative. It will be a source of great relief to the farming community in Northern Ireland and indeed on the whole island. We must be not be complacent but there are now grounds for optimism that this is not a case of foot-and-mouth disease."
The eight kilometre surveillance zone established around the suspect farm and abattoir will now be lifted but both would continue to be under restriction until final confirmation was available in four or five days time.
"This is precisely the procedure we followed in all of the other cases where we had suspects," she said.
Yesterday Mrs Rodgers revealed that around 60 sheep from a consignment in Cumbria where the first case of foot-and-mouth was confirmed, had gone missing.
Mrs Rodgers said today that her officials were confident that all of these sheep would soon be traced and appealed for anyone with information to get in touch.
PA