USA

8-Year-Old Dies After Suspected ‘Brain-Eating’ Amoeba Infection in Louisiana

24 August 2026 19:08 PM

NEWS DESK

An eight-year-old girl has died in Louisiana after being infected with the rare “brain-eating” amoeba Naegleria fowleri, which health officials believe she contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne.

Lillian Smart, a resident of Ruston, Louisiana, died last Saturday, according to local reports. Her family said she died just one day after celebrating her birthday.

In a post on a Facebook page called “Love for Lillian,” the family said the damage to her brain was so severe that she was unable to recover.

The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed last Wednesday that a state resident had contracted Naegleria fowleri. Officials said the infection was most likely acquired while the person was swimming in Lake Claiborne in Claiborne Parish. Local media later identified the patient as Lillian, citing family friends.

According to local television station KNOE, Lillian had been hospitalized since August 15. More than two dozen businesses in Ruston also supported the Smart family during the crisis by donating a portion of their sales proceeds.

Infections caused by Naegleria fowleri are extremely rare. Louisiana has recorded only a handful of cases since 2011. The amoeba thrives in warm freshwater and is more commonly found during the summer in southern US states.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 180 cases have been identified across the United States since 1937. In 2023, a child in Little Rock, Arkansas, died after contracting Naegleria fowleri at a splash pad at a country club.

The amoeba can be found in warm freshwater sources such as lakes, rivers and ponds across the United States. It is not found in saltwater and generally does not survive in properly maintained, adequately chlorinated swimming pools.

Experts have warned that climate change could make conditions suitable for the amoeba in areas where it was previously uncommon, including parts of the northern and western United States.

Naegleria fowleri can cause a rare and potentially fatal infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) when contaminated water enters the body through the nose. The amoeba can then travel to the brain and cause severe inflammation and tissue damage.

The infection does not normally occur when contaminated water is swallowed or consumed. It also does not spread from person to person.

Brain-Eating Amoeba Infections Death