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8-year-old Louisiana girl dies from rare brain-eating amoeba found in warm freshwater
NBC News • • general
Key Points:
- An 8-year-old girl named Lillian Smart in Louisiana died after being infected by the rare brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri, which thrives in warm freshwater and causes a nearly always fatal brain infection.
- The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed the state's first Naegleria fowleri infection since 2013, likely contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne.
- Naegleria fowleri infections are extremely rare in the U.S., with fewer than 10 cases annually and about 180 confirmed cases since 1937, and the infection cannot spread between people.
- The amoeba becomes dangerous in water temperatures above 77°F and is typically found in southern U.S. freshwater bodies during summer, though recent cases have appeared in northern states.
- There is no routine environmental testing for Naegleria fowleri in water, and similar fatal infections have occurred recently, including a 12-year-old boy in South Carolina last year.
