8-Year-Old Girl Dies After Suspected Infection from Brain-Eating Amoeba in Louisiana

Lillian Smart, an 8-year-old girl, died on Saturday at a hospital in Ruston, Louisiana, after health officials believe she contracted a brain-eating amoeba while swimming in a northern Louisiana lake. Her death occurred one day after her eighth birthday. The Smart family stated that the injuries to her brain were too severe for her to recover. The Louisiana Department of Health announced that a state resident had been hospitalized due to an infection linked to Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic amoeba that can cause a rare and often fatal brain infection. Although state health officials did not confirm Lillian's identity, her family indicated on social media that she had been admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit and identified Naegleria fowleri as the cause of her illness. The health department noted that the infection was likely acquired while swimming in Lake Claiborne shortly before she became ill. Records from the Louisiana Department of Health indicate three previous deaths associated with Naegleria fowleri in the state since 2011. Naegleria fowleri causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare brain infection that occurs when contaminated water enters the nose. Symptoms typically begin with headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, progressing to more severe symptoms. Approximately 97% of individuals who develop PAM die from the infection, according to the CDC.