A cow at a farm in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, was confirmed negative for foot-and-mouth-disease, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Tuesday.

Authorities lifted the precautionary measures around the area including a ban on the movement of cows, vehicles and people.

The Pohang municipal government received a report on Monday about one of the 14 cows raised in a farm in Shingwangmyeon behaving strangely.

FMD swept the nation earlier this year with tens of thousands of livestock reported to have been stricken with the disease. More than 30 million cows, pigs and chickens were culled as a preventative measure, causing about 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) in damages. Moreover, and the speedy burials triggered concerns over possible soil and water pollution around the pits.

Meanwhile, the ministry warned local quarantine officials to watch for a possible FMD outbreak as the weather gets colder, as the disease tends to spread more quickly in colder temperatures.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)