(NICOSIA) - Test results received by Cyprus on Wednesday verified that the Mediterranean island did not have an outbreak of foot and mouth disease as suspected, Cypriot Agriculture Minister Photis Photiou told AFP.

"We got the results back, it's okay, they came back negaitive," said Photiou. "I think by tomorrow (Thursday) or even tonight (Wednesday) the restrictions will be lifted."

Samples were sent for analysis to the British EU-accredited laboratory in Weybridge, Surrey.

Dozens of farms on the island's southeast coast were cordoned off after a suspected outbreak of foot and mouth disease on October 26. A three-kilometre (two-mile) protection zone was imposed after two tests by veterinary surgeons on a herd of 300 sheep proved positive.

It is still not known what caused the animals to fall ill, although breeders suspect the sheep became sick after chewing on a herb that grows in the wild.

"We need more tests to see what the problem is, it might take a few days," said Photiou.

The last reported outbreak of foot and mouth disease on the island was in 1963.

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