Louisiana: 8-year-old girl dies from a "brain-eating amoeba"; here is what we know

An 8-year-old girl in Louisiana has died after being infected with an extremely rare, brain-eating amoeba found in warm freshwater, her family reported.

Lillian Smart died over the weekend after being diagnosed with a Naegleria fowleri infection, according to Kyle Roberts, a spokesperson for her family. Health authorities describe it as a “brain-eating amoeba” that thrives in freshwater bodies across the United States and can enter through the nose, causing an infection that is almost always fatal. On average, there are fewer than 10 cases per year in the United States.

“Last night, Lillian passed from our arms into the arms of Jesus,” her parents, Daniel and Rebecca Smart, wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “The damage to her brain was too severe for her little body to recover. Everyone did everything they could to keep her here.”

The Louisiana Department of Health reported last week that the state had recorded its first confirmed Naegleria fowleri infection since 2013. The department, which did not identify Smart, does not comment on individual cases or specific patients, according to spokesperson Stacey Grow.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry wrote on X: “Heartbroken by the news of Lillian's passing.”

The Louisiana Department of Health indicated that the infection was likely contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne, in the northern part of the state.

SYMPTOMS OF THE BRAIN-EATING AMOEBA

The amoeba can cause a deadly infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis when water containing it goes up the nose and reaches the brain. Between 1937 and 2025, only about 180 infections have been confirmed in the United States, according to the Department of Health, which added that cases are “almost always fatal.” The infection cannot be spread from person to person.

Naegleria fowleri is found in warm freshwater lakes, rivers, canals, and ponds throughout the United States. The amoeba becomes dangerous in water that stays above 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit), and for years it has been observed almost exclusively in the summer in the southern part of the country. Recently, scientists noted that some cases have appeared in Maryland, Indiana, and Minnesota.

“The organism is naturally occurring, and there is no routine environmental test to detect Naegleria fowleri in water bodies,” noted the Louisiana Department of Health.

Last year, a 12-year-old boy in South Carolina also died from an infection caused by the amoeba.