Health Highlights: Jan. 5, 2015

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Health Worker Exposed to Ebola Being Monitored in Nebraska Hospital

A U.S. health care worker who was exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone is under observation after arriving at the Nebraska Medical Center on Sunday afternoon.

The patient was flown to Omaha and then driven to the medical center by paramedics in full-body protective gear, the Associated Press reported.

The patient — who has not tested positive for Ebola and is not ill or contagious — will be monitored for signs of Ebola throughout the virus’ 21-day incubation period, according to Dr. Phil Smith, head of the biocontainment unit at the medical center.

Doctors and nurses are wearing full protective equipment and taking the same precautions used when three patients with Ebola were treated at the medical center last fall, hospital spokesman Taylor Wilson told the AP.

About 8,000 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa that began about a year ago, according to the World Health Organization.

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