South Sudan is facing another potential threat with the first confirmed case of Ebola near its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reported.

This is specifically significant as the country’s healthcare system has been weakened by years of civil war, making it vulnerable to the potential spread of the deadly virus.

The case was registered in the DRC town of Ariwara, situated in north-eastern Ituri province and about 70km from the border with South Sudan's Yei River State, according to South Sudan's health ministry Al Jazeera reported.

Despite being identified as having been exposed to Ebola and warned not to travel, the 40-year-old woman had travelled nearly 500km to Ariwara from Beni in the DRC’s North Kivu province.

A new Ebola outbreak began in North Kivu last August before spreading to neighbouring Ituri.

The world's worst epidemic of Ebola, a haemorrhagic fever, killed about 11,300 people in West Africa in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia from 2013 to 2016.

More than 2,200 Ebola cases have been confirmed since the virus re-emerged, and more than 1,500 people have died, according to the latest figures from the DRC's health ministry.

The first cross-border cases were reported in Uganda last month when two members of a family from the DRC travelled to the country before returning to Uganda raising fear of wider regional transmission.

Fighting the disease and treating victims have proved problematic due to insecurity in the area and continued attacks on aid workers by militia groups.