8-Year-Old Dies From Rare Brain-Eating Amoeba After Swimming in Louisiana Lake

A community in Louisiana is mourning the loss of an 8-year-old girl after she contracted a rare brain-eating amoeba while swimming in a lake near her home. Read on for details of this tragedy, as well as the facts about the infection and where it is most commonly found in the U.S.

Brain-Eating Amoeba Blamed for Death of 8-Year-Old Girl

Lilian Smart died over the weekend just days after turning eight years old. Smart was believed to have contracted a brain-eating amoeba while swimming in Lake Claiborne, located roughly 30 miles northwest of her home in Ruston.

Smart's parents posted on Facebook on Sunday morning announcing that “Last night Lillian ran from our arms to the arms of Jesus. The injuries to her brain were too severe for her little body to recover from." The family had noted earlier that she had been hospitalized due to significant brain swelling blamed on the parasite.

The Louisiana Department of Health broke the news last week, confirming that a resident had been hospitalized after likely contracting Naegleria fowleri. This microscopic amoeba lives in warm freshwater bodies of water that are more common in the southern third of the U.S. Naegleria fowleri can trigger a severe neurological infection when contaminated water flows up the nose and reaches the brain.

According to the state health department, the amoeba cannot cause infection if swallowed. It is also not contagious.

Rarity of Naegleria Fowleri

While the infection is exceedingly rare, it is almost always fatal. There have only been 180 confirmed cases in the U.S. between 1937 and 2025. Louisiana has only recorded three cases during that period, speaking to the rarity of the infection.

The majority of the confirmed cases have been identified in the southern and central portions of the country due to the warmer weather that supports the amoeba's habitat. However, recent data signal that the impacts of climate change are expanding the places where the amoeba can thrive.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that early symptoms of the infection include fever, nausea, headache, and vomiting. Because it is so rare and not on people's radar, the infection can be challenging to diagnose in its early stages. The symptoms tend to progress rapidly, with patients soon experiencing loss of balance, confusion, stiff neck, and hallucinations.

As in Smart's case, her mother said that her fever progressed to double vision, leading to the hospitalization. She was in intensive care for about a week before losing her fight. Smart's family was able to gather around her bed and celebrate her birthday before she passed away.

Smart's death was the first of its kind this year. In 2023, a Georgia resident contracted the amoeba and died. Nebraska reported its first death connected to Naegleria fowleri in 2022 when a child contracted the amoeba. Both of these patients were infected after swimming in freshwater lakes.

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