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The writer is a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. (Special to the Washington Post.)

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has reportedly claimed nearly 4,500 lives, and World Health Organization officials believe the true death toll could be far higher. Global concern is spreading.

How worried should we be? What are the risks? Let’s debunk several misconceptions about this crisis:

>> Ebola won’t spread in rich countries.

Until nurse Teresa Romero Ramos contracted Ebola in Madrid, the wealthy countries of Europe, North America and Asia seemed confident that the virus could be contained in advanced medical facilities. As Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, put it after the first U.S. Ebola case was confirmed in Dallas: “We’re stopping it in its tracks in this country.”

Such assurances help calm people’s nerves but may be overstated. No system of protection is 100 percent. The Spanish government has concluded that Ramos got infected as she was removing her protective suit, touching her face before disinfecting her hands.