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8-year-old Louisiana girl dies from rare brain-eating amoeba found in warm freshwater
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Key Points:
- An 8-year-old girl in Louisiana, Lillian Smart, died after contracting a rare and almost always fatal brain infection caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, which thrives in warm freshwater.
- The infection, known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, occurs when contaminated water enters the nose and reaches the brain, with fewer than 10 cases reported annually in the U.S. on average.
- The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed this as the state's first Naegleria fowleri infection since 2013, likely contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne.
- Naegleria fowleri is naturally found in warm freshwater bodies across the U.S., especially in southern states during summer, and cannot spread from person to person.
- Similar cases have occurred recently in other states, including a fatal infection in a 12-year-old boy in South Carolina last year.
