The death toll from the year-long Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has topped 2,000, according to government data released on Friday, which also showed the number of confirmed cases surpassed 3,000.

The outbreak, which was officially declared in August of last year, is the second deadliest on record behind the 2013-16 epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,300 people.

Uganda, meanwhile, reported another case of Ebola - a nine-year-old girl who crossed the border from neighbouring DRC.

The child - who is now in isolation at a hospital in the Ugandan border district of Kasese - travelled from DRC with her mother on Wednesday, Uganda's health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The girl, of Congolese origin, was identified by a screening team at Mpondwe border post as she tried to cross to Uganda.

The girl exhibited symptoms including high fever and unexplained mouth bleeding, according to the statement.  A sample of her blood tested positive for Ebola.

"Since the child was identified at the point of entry, there are no contacts in Uganda," it added.

Regional alarm

The new case is likely to heighten fears of the outbreak, which has largely been confined to eastern DRC, spilling over into neighbouring countries.

In June, two people who travelled from DRC died in Uganda while a third who was part of the same visiting family died after he was sent back home.

Cases of cross-border contamination have so far been rare, however, in part because of stringent screening procedures at official border crossings in Uganda and Rwanda, which border DRC.

The Ebola outbreak, which emerged in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, hasn't shown signs of slowing down in the DRC, however.

New cases were reported in Goma, capital of North Kivu province, in recent months. The outbreak has also recently spread to a new province, South Kivu. 'Perfect storm'

In July, the World Health Organization (WHO)  declared  the outbreak

a public health emergency of international concern.

Efforts to end its spread have been repeatedly hampered by a " perfect storm " of regional insecurity in eastern DRC and deep community mistrust over the crisis and towards authorities.