A Kansas State University laboratory says it is seeing an increase in rabies cases so far this year.
The university's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory says it had verified 28 positive cases of rabies from January through March, compared with only 10 cases during the same period last year.
Rolan Davis, a diagnostician at the lab, says all but five of the 28 cases were found in skunks. Three others were found in cats, one in a bovine and one in a fox.
Davis says pet owners should be aware of the increase but it is not a cause for alarm because rabies is always around. Lab officials say the best protection is to vaccinate animals against rabies.