Another illness has hit this area, although not in pandemic numbers — and it’s an annual occurrence.
    Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department has announced the first positive rabies case in its district for the year.
    The district covers Chase, Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Hayes, Hitchcock, Keith, Perkins, and Red Willow counties.
    Melissa Propp, disease surveillance coordinator for the agency, said HIPPA regulations bar SWNPHD from saying which county the case happened in.
    “We usually see it around this time,” Propp said. “It’s actually fairly late in the season. Normally we see them around February and March.”
    Cold, wet weather during those months may have delayed this year’s debut here, she said.
    SWNPHD’s announcement of the case here noted that the Centers for Disease Control considers rabies a medical emergency.

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