Results of a suspected case of foot-and-mouth in Co Louth will be known on Monday at the earliest, according to the Department of Agriculture.
But the Department said it had "no concerns" at this stage about the suspected case at Dunleek. Samples were sent to the Pirbright laboratory in Surrey on Wednesday, after a sheep on a farm was found to have suspicious symptoms.
The sheep from which the samples were taken is from a 140-strong flock, none of which has been slaughtered yet. The Department said the sample was a "precautionary measure".
A Department spokesman said: "There was only one animal with suspicious symptoms, and there are no concerns at this stage."
The move was part of a tracing operation which had been going on since February and was linked to sheep or people moving through Ardee Mart.
Figures from the Department of Agriculture show 53,844 animals were culled in Co Louth after the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth at Proleek.
This breaks down as: 49,164 sheep; 1,138 cattle; 306 goats; 282 deer; and 2,954 pigs. Elsewhere in the State, 5,257 sheep and 585 cattle have been slaughtered.
The Government's expert committee on foot-and-mouth, chaired by Prof Michael Monaghan of UCD, will issue recommendations on Monday about the possible easing of animal movements on and between farms.
Meanwhile, BSE remains the biggest threat to long-term farming in the State, despite the current foot-and-mouth crisis, according to Teagasc, the agricultural and food authority. The beef market is likely to remain difficult and volatile over the next few years, even with no further foot-and-mouth setbacks, said the Teagasc outlook report 2001.
Its economists say, "provided we can continue to keep foot-and-mouth at bay, losses due to the BSE crisis in 2001 will be offset by an increase in direct payments to beef farmers and by gains in other sectors, resulting in little change in overall farm incomes".
The economists forecast a return to more stability in beef consumption and prices from 2004.
But BSE figures in the State are higher than this time last year. There have been 45 cases so far this year compared to 39 in the first four months of 2000. The total number of positive cases in 2000 was 145.
Since January 1st, almost 200,000 cattle in the State have been killed to boost beef prices, under the purchase-for-destruction scheme. This scheme was introduced after markets collapsed when BSE was confirmed in several European countries.