Army: Soldier Found Dead Did Not Have Ebola

The Ebola virus did not kill a soldier who was found dead outside of his home near Fort Hood, Texas, Army officials stated Jan. 13. The unidentified 24-year-old soldier recently had returned from duty in West Africa, where the disease triggered an epidemic. The soldier had served in Liberia with the Hood-based 36th Engineer Brigade. After the unit returned home Jan. 8, the soldier and his colleagues were ordered to monitor their health twice each day and report it to base medical officials. The unit’s soldiers were under orders to remain in seclusion until 21 days after returning home, Stars and Stripes reported. The soldier who died, however, had been granted an emergency-leave exception and allowed to visit his family, who live in nearby Killeen, Texas. Army medical teams tested the soldier for Ebola after local paramedics responded to an emergency call to his home, and learned that he had been deployed to West Africa.