NORTH PLATTE - Health officials in southwest Nebraska say they have seen a jump in rabies cases.

The Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department covers eight counties in the region. Director Myra Stoney says four cases of rabies in skunks have been confirmed since April - the first such reports for the area in three years.

North Platte Animal Shelter Supervisor Kerri Kelsey says she suspects that's only the tip of the iceberg. Kelsey says the shelter has euthanized many problem skunks, but does not have the money to test them all.

She says if they were all tested, "I think we would find a lot more than the four cases we've seen this year."