Eight-year-old girl dies in Louisiana after Naegleria fowleri infection

Eight-year-old Lillian Smart from Ruston, Louisiana, has died after contracting the rare amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Health authorities estimate that the infection most likely occurred while swimming in Lake Claiborne in Claiborne Parish.

The girl’s family announced her death on Saturday on the Love for Lillian Facebook page. Lillian died the day after celebrating her birthday. Her relatives said the brain damage was too severe for the child to recover.

Health department statement

The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed on August 19 that a state resident had been infected with Naegleria fowleri and said that Lake Claiborne was the likely place of contact with the amoeba. Later, family friends identified the infected person as Lillian Smart, local media reported, The Guardian writes.

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According to local television channel KNOE, the girl had been in hospital since August 15. More than two dozen businesses in Ruston supported the Smart family by donating part of their sales proceeds.

Rare infection

Infections caused by Naegleria fowleri are extremely rare and almost always fatal. Only a few such cases have been recorded in Louisiana since 2011. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 180 cases of infection have been identified in the country since 1937.

The amoeba develops in warm freshwater and is most often found during summer in the southern US states. It can be found in lakes, rivers and ponds, but not in saltwater or properly maintained and chlorinated pools. Infection can occur when contaminated water enters the nose, after which the amoeba can reach the brain and cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Swallowing water does not cause infection, and the disease is not transmitted from person to person.