An 8-year-old has died after contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba believed to have been encountered while swimming in a lake near her home, her family and health officials said.

Lillian Smart of Ruston infected with fatal Naegleria fowleri, likely after swimming in Lake Claiborne, health officials say

Doctors did all they could to stop the horror brain-eating amoeba from claiming little Lillian's life, but the infection became too great for her to overcome