Birthday heartbreak as Louisiana girl, 8, dies from extremely rare brain infection

Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyle(Facebook)Eight-year-old Lillian Smart of Ruston, Louisiana, has died after contracting the rare brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Health officials believe the child likely contracted the infection while swimming at Lake Claiborne in Louisiana. The amoeba causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a nearly always fatal condition that travels to the brain when contaminated warm fresh water enters the nose. Lillian suffered severe symptoms including a fever, double vision, and significant brain swelling before passing away a day after her eighth birthday. The Louisiana Department of Health noted that such cases are extremely rare, with only 180 known cases reported in the U.S. between 1937 and 2025. In fullGirl, 8, dies after contracting brain-eating amoeba she likely caught swimming in Louisiana lakeMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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