Home / Health / Louisiana Girl, 8, Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba
Louisiana Girl, 8, Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba
25 Aug
Summary
- An 8-year-old Louisiana girl died from a rare brain-eating amoeba infection.
- The infection was likely contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne, Louisiana.
- This marks Louisiana's first confirmed case of the amoeba since 2013.
An 8-year-old girl in Louisiana, identified as Lillian Smart, has died after contracting a deadly infection from Naegleria fowleri, a rare brain-eating amoeba. Her family shared the heartbreaking news, explaining that the injuries to her brain were too severe for her body to recover.
Health authorities confirmed this is Louisiana's first recorded case of Naegleria fowleri infection since 2013. The infection was likely acquired while swimming in Lake Claiborne in north Louisiana. The amoeba can cause a nearly always fatal condition called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis when water enters the nose and reaches the brain.
Naegleria fowleri is found in warm freshwater and becomes dangerous in water temperatures above 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). While rare, with only about 180 confirmed infections in the U.S. between 1937 and 2025, the infection cannot spread from person to person.
