An extremely rare brain-eating amoeba has led to the death of an 8-year-old girl in , her own family said, as per a report by the Associated Press.
The youngster, Lillian Smart, passed away over the weekend after she was diagnosed with an infection of Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba in question, as per a spokesperson of her family. The Naegleria fowleri amoeba thrives in freshwater bodies in the and can shoot up the nose of an individual, leading to an infection which proves to be fatal in most cases.
“Last night Lillian ran from our arms to the arms of Jesus,” her parents, Daniel and Rebecca Smart, said in a post on Facebook on Sunday. “The injuries to her brain were too severe for her little body to recover from. Everyone did everything they could to keep her here,” they added.
“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,” they also said.
“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.”
The infection is extremely rare, affecting only around 10 individuals in a year in the US.
The Louisiana Department of Health said last week that this was the first confirmed state of Naegleria fowleri in the state since 2013, as per AP. Moreover, in the time period of 1937 to 2025, the number of confirmed cases in the United States have been only 180. This infection, however, cannot spread from person to person.
They also revealed that the infection was most likely contracted when Lillian went swimming in north Louisiana’s Lake Clariborne.
This amoeba is generally found in warm freshwater bodies like ponds, canals, rivers, and lakes throughout the US. It becomes dangerous when it is in water that is 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). Although it was for years confined to the souther parts of the country, in recent times cases have also been seen in Maryland, Indiana and Minnesota, as per scientists AP spoke to.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry also , saying in a post on X, “Heartbroken over the news of Lillian’s passing,” adding, “Please join Sharon and me in prayer for the Smart family and the entire Ruston community during this time.”
In 2025, a 12-year-old had died in South Carolina from an infection caused byh the Naegleria fowleri amoeba.
With AP inputs
