Health authorities say South Korea is free from the human form of mad cow disease.

The National Institute of Health said a 36-year-old man suspected of infection has been confirmed not to have been affected by the fatal illness.

The disease called vCJD was first reported in the mid-1990s, and has killed 87 in England, three in France and one in Ireland so far.

Human infection mostly comes from consumption of meat infected with mad cow disease.

Meanwhile, quarantine officials burned all meat confiscated from incoming South Korean tourists at Kimpo International Airport as a precaution against mad cow disease sweeping Europe.

Several millions of cows have been slaughtered in Europe since the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in England in 1984.