An eight-year-old girl from Louisiana has died after becoming infected with a rare and usually deadly brain-eating amoeba following a swim in Lake Claiborne.
Lillian Smart, who lived in Ruston, died on Saturday, just one day after her birthday, her family shared in a public Facebook post on the “Love for Lillian” page.
“Last night Lillian ran from our arms to the arms of Jesus,” her family wrote. “The injuries to her brain were too severe for her little body to recover from. Everyone did everything they could to keep her here. We are heartbroken and honestly do not know what to do next. How do we put one foot in front of the other without our girl?”
The Louisiana department of health said on 19 August that a state resident had contracted Naegleria fowleri, adding that the person was most likely exposed while swimming in Lake Claiborne in Claiborne parish. Family friends later confirmed to several local media outlets that the infected resident was Lillian.
Infections caused by Naegleria fowleri are almost always fatal.
Lillian had been in the hospital since 15 August, KNOE reported. During her hospitalization, the Ruston community rallied around the Smart family, with more than two dozen local businesses donating a share of their sales, according to the Facebook page.
Cases of Naegleria fowleri infection remain extremely uncommon, and Louisiana has reported only a small number since 2011.
The amoeba thrives in warm water and is most often detected in southern states during the summer months. Since 1937, about 180 cases have been identified in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2023, an Arkansas child died after contracting Naegleria fowleri from a country club splash pad in the state capital of Little Rock.
Naegleria fowleri can be found in warm freshwater across the country, including lakes, rivers and ponds. It is not found in salt water or in swimming pools that are properly maintained and chlorinated.
Experts say the climate crisis is causing the amoeba to pop up in parts of the US where it isn’t typical, such as the north and west. It is likely to cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a brain infection that can develop when contaminated water enters the nose and the amoeba travels to the brain.
People cannot become infected just by swallowing water containing Naegleria fowleri, and the infection does not spread from one person to another.
