8-year-old Louisiana girl dies from brain-eating amoeba one day after her birthday

Digital editor

RUSTON, La. —

An 8-year-old Louisiana girl has died after contracting Naegleria fowleri, a rare, brain-eating amoeba.

Lillian Smart of Ruston, Louisiana, died Saturday, a day after her birthday.

She possibly contracted the infection during a recent swim at Lake Claiborne. In a statement on social media, her family stated: “Her brain injuries were too severe for her to recover from.”

Her family confirmed her passing in a statement on Facebook.

“Last night Lillian ran from our arms to the arms of Jesus.

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?

Our foundation is still in Jesus. We didn’t get to keep our girl but we watched miracles happen on her behalf. We believe God is good. He will give us strength when we have none left. He’s given us a community of support that I don’t think can be found anywhere else in the world. Lil would have loved seeing everyone come together and she would have been right in the middle of it trying to help where she could.

We are devastated. We know you are too. Pray for our boys. They are going to need it so much. Pray for our friends and family, they are so sad and somehow still showing up for us. Pray for us, we won’t be able to do this without it.

We are so grateful to you for loving our girl.”

Last week, the Louisiana Department of Health reported that a Louisiana resident was infected with Naegleria fowleri.

Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in warm freshwater lakes, rivers, canals, and ponds throughout the United States.

It can cause a brain infection after water containing the amoeba rushes up the nose and enters the brain, according to health officials.

The infection is extremely rare, but nearly always fatal.

Naegleria fowleri cannot infect people if swallowed and is not spread from person to person. The amoeba is not found in salt water or in properly maintained and chlorinated pools.

According to LDH, symptoms of Naegleria fowleri infection typically start with severe headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, and progress to stiff neck, seizures, and coma that can lead to death.

Symptoms usually begin about five days after infection but can start within one to 12 days.

Naegleria fowleri infections are rare, with only 180 known cases of PAM in the U.S. (between zero and eight cases annually) from 1937 through 2025. Louisiana had three Naegleria fowleri cases during that time period.