An 8-year-old girl in Louisiana, Lillian Smart, died after contracting an infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, an extremely rare amoeba commonly known as the “brain-eating amoeba.”
According to her family, Lillian died over the weekend after the infection caused severe damage to her brain. Her parents, Daniel and Rebecca Smart, announced her death on Facebook, saying that the injuries to her brain were too severe for her body to recover.
The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed that the state had recorded its first confirmed Naegleria fowleri infection since 2013, although officials did not identify the patient.
Health authorities say the amoeba can live in warm freshwater and can enter the body through the nose, causing a severe infection that is almost always fatal. Fewer than 10 cases are reported each year on average in the United States.
The Louisiana Department of Health said the infection was likely contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne, in northern Louisiana.
