Lillian Smart, an 8-year-old girl from Louisiana, died on Saturday at a Ruston hospital from an infection linked to a brain-eating amoeba. According to her family, Lillian had contracted the infection while swimming in a northern Louisiana lake.
The family released a statement on Facebook, saying that Lillian's injuries were too severe for her body to recover from. "Everyone did everything they could to keep her here," the statement read. "We are heartbroken and honestly do not know what to do next."
The Louisiana Department of Health had announced earlier this week that a state resident had been hospitalized with a rare brain infection caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba. The health department said that the infection was likely acquired while the patient was swimming in Lake Claiborne shortly before becoming ill.
Naegleria fowleri is a microscopic amoeba that can cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, a rare and often deadly brain infection. The infection can develop when contaminated water enters the nose and the amoeba travels to the brain. Symptoms typically begin with headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting before progressing to a stiff neck, seizures, and coma.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 97% of people who develop PAM die from the infection. This case marks the fourth death associated with Naegleria fowleri in Louisiana since 2011.
NTC Report coverage is based on reporting from the original publisher.
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