By Martin Cassidy BBC Northern Ireland Rural Affairs Correspondent

The cattle disease brucellosis is spreading rapidly throughout Northern Ireland.

Wiping it out will take years and cost the taxpayer millions of pounds.

It is proving a major drain on the staffing and financial resources of the province's Assembly controlled department of agriculture.

Brucellosis is a highly infectious disease which causes a cow to abort its calf.

The department of agriculture says that realistically it will take seven years to eradicate brucellosis

But it can also affect people who work with animals, causing a recurring fever and depression.

Farmers, abattoir workers and vets are considered most at risk.

From a situation three years ago where Northern Ireland was virtually free of the disease, brucellosis has now been identified in more than 200 herds.

Capping compensation

In Northern Ireland more than �10m a year is being spent on testing and compensation for infected animals.

The department of agriculture says it is taking new powers to cap compensation payments and to deduct compensation where herd-owners prove negligent.

Foot-and-mouth was potentially a more devastating and costly disease but while defeating the virus took less than seven months, the department of agriculture says that realistically it will take seven years to eradicate brucellosis.

Ironically it was the battle to control foot-and-mouth which allowed brucellosis to take hold.

'Department slow'

Regular testing was suspended in many cases while government vets grappled with the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

As the testing regime resumed, it became clear that brucellosis had spread, with south Armagh one of the worst affected areas.

Farmers have complained that the department has sometimes been slow to remove infected animals, so increasing the risk of other cattle contracting the disease.

An accelerated slaughter programme has been introduced to clear the backlog.

Now, in a new brucellosis policy review, the department of agriculture says it aims to reduce the number of outbreaks to 150 a year within three years through adjusting the testing frequency and introducing pre-movement testing.

Restrictions

Compensation for animals will now be capped at �1,500.

It is also taking powers to enforce housing and movement restrictions in an effort to limit the spread of the disease.

Slurry on infected farms will be treated with thick lime milk to minimise the risk of potential infection.

Farmers are also being warned at calving time not to consider giving mouth-to-mouth resucitation to weak calves.

The policy review also outlines changes to the process of valuing animals which have to be slaughtered to leave the department less susceptible to legal challenge and there will be new powers to allow compensation to be deducted where there has been negligence on the part of herd owners.