In this Tuesday Feb. 26 2019 photo, health workers give a training presentation about how to detect and prevent the spread of Ebola, in an army barracks outside South Sudan's town of Yei. With the deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo now an international emergency, neighboring South Sudan and its war-weakened health system is a major concern, especially after one case was confirmed near its border. Health experts say there is an urgent need to increase prevention efforts. (AP Photo/ Sam Medrick)

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — With the deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo now an international emergency , neighboring South Sudan and its war-weakened health system is a major concern, especially after one case was confirmed near its border. Health experts say there is an urgent need to increase prevention efforts.

The World Health Organization on Wednesday made the emergency declaration for the year-old outbreak, a rare move that usually leads to more global attention and aid. More than 1,600 people have died in what has become the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history.

Health experts worry about what would happen if Ebola reaches South Sudan as the shattered nation tries to recover from a five-year civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions.

Many health facilities were badly damaged or destroyed, and unrest continues in parts of the country despite a fragile peace deal signed in September.

Last month a 41-year-old woman was discovered with Ebola in northeastern Congo, just 43 miles from South Sudan. She had traveled 500 kilometers from Beni, the epicenter of the outbreak, despite having been exposed to the virus and warned not to travel.

South Sudan has sent a health team to strengthen surveillance at one of its busiest border posts, Kaya in Central Equatoria state, near where the woman’s case was confirmed. Hers was the closest confirmed case to South Sudan since this outbreak was declared.

“The risk of cases of Ebola coming across the border into South Sudan is very high,” said Sudhir Bunga, South Sudan country director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “A person who comes into contact with a confirmed case of Ebola in (Congo) could travel to South Sudan, or any neighboring country, undetected during the 21-day incubation period and spread the disease once contagious.”

That recently happened in neighboring Uganda, a more stable country with a more developed health system and experience with past Ebola outbreaks, as millions of people flow across borders in the densely populated region.

Three people died in Uganda before other family members were taken back to Congo for treatment and Ugandan officials quickly declared the country was again free of the disease.

Ebola’s spread into South Sudan would pose more of a challenge.

Even though Ebola preparedness, including vaccinations for some health workers, began several months ago the current phase of the country’s $12 million response plan is just 36% funded, according to a report this month by the country’s health ministry.