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8-year-old dies from rare brain-eating amoeba likely contracted while swimming in Louisiana lake
CNN • • general
Key Points:
- An 8-year-old girl, Lillian Smart from Ruston, Louisiana, died after contracting the rare and nearly always fatal brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri, likely from swimming in Lake Claiborne near her home.
- The amoeba, which thrives in warm freshwater, infects people when contaminated water enters the nose and reaches the brain, causing severe brain swelling and rapid neurological decline.
- Naegleria fowleri infections are extremely rare, with only 180 confirmed cases in the U.S. since 1937 and three in Louisiana; however, climate change may be expanding the amoeba’s range into northern states.
- Lillian was hospitalized with symptoms including fever and double vision before being placed in intensive care, and her local community held fundraisers to support her family during her illness.
- Similar recent cases include a 2023 death in Georgia and Nebraska’s first reported death in 2022, both linked to swimming in freshwater, highlighting ongoing risks despite the rarity of infections.
