The Department of Agriculture said today that blood samples had been taken from sheep on a farm in Watergrasshill, Co Cork after a routine veterinary inspection.
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A spokeswoman told
ireland.com
that following the inspection, the veterinary inspector took blood samples from three sheep who were displaying symptoms of disease.
She said the samples had been sent to the Pirbright Laboratory in Surrey and the results were expected next Tuesday or Wednesday.
She said while there was no immediate concern about the condition of the animals, the samples were taken to rule out the possible presence of foot-and-mouth.
"This is purely a precautionary measure", she said, adding that the Department continued to urge farmers to be vigilant for any signs of suspect symptoms in their livestock.
The 30-day statutory period after confirmation of the single case expired last week, permitting the lifting of some official restrictions that had been imposed by the Government.