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 ||||| A soilder based at Ft. Hood, who recently returned from fighting the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, was found dead on his doorstep. Tests for Ebola were negative. VPC 
 
 A colorized transmission electron micrograph of an Ebola virus virion. (Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) 
 
 A soldier found dead on his doorstep who recently returned from Liberia has conclusively tested negative for the virus, Fort Hood officials said Tuesday evening. 
 
 The soldier, who returned to the USA earlier this month after being deployed to help fight the Ebola outbreak, died from unknown causes, said Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. Further medical tests are being conducted to determine why he died. 
 
 The soldier, a 24-year-old man whose name was not released pending notification of family, died at his apartment off base and had been monitoring his temperature and other potential symptoms, reporting his status to medical officials, a Fort Hood statement said. That's standard procedure for 21 days after any troops leave a zone where Ebola outbreaks have occurred. 
 
 The soldier was found in or near a pool of vomit, prompting concern about Ebola, according to a Defense Department official speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the investigation. 
 
 A second Defense official said the soldier had been allowed to leave the post after returning from West Africa under emergency leave and had not shown signs of the disease when he returned to the post. 
 
 A preliminary test was negative for the deadly virus, and on Tuesday evening negative results of a second, more conclusive test, called a polymerase chain reaction test, were released by Fort Hood, ruling out Ebola. 
 
 Fort Hood spokesman Chris Haug said the soldier returned with his unit last week from Liberia, where he helped construct an Ebola treatment camp. The soldier wasn't exposed to Ebola patients. 
 
 About 80 other soldiers from Fort Hood, about halfway between Dallas and San Antonio in Texas, returned to the base last week from West Africa. 
 
 About 3,000 troops are being deployed to West Africa to help fight the outbreak, which has claimed more than 8,200 lives, according to the World Health Organization. 
 
 The concerns come a day after patient in the Denver area, who had traveled to the United States from an area of Ebola outbreaks, also tested negative for the often-fatal disease. Although hospitals in the United States have treated 10 patients with Ebola, only four have been diagnosed in this country. 
 
 Contributing: Tiffany Pelt, KCEN-TV, Waco-Temple-College Station, Texas; Blair Shiff, KUSA-TV, Denver; The Associated Press 
 
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– A Fort Hood soldier recently returned from fighting the Ebola outbreak in Liberia was found dead on his doorstep yesterday morning, but officials say conclusive tests have ruled the disease out as a cause. The 24-year-old returned to Texas with his unit last week and the tests were ordered as a precaution after his body was found outside his off-base apartment in Killeen, the AP reports. He had been self-monitoring for fever and other symptoms as troops are required to do for 21 days after leaving Ebola zones, the base says. Defense Department sources say Ebola was a major concern because the soldier was found in or near a pool of vomit, USA Today reports. More tests are being conducted to determine the cause of death.