Louisiana 8-Year-Old Dies After Lake Swim Caused Rare Amoeba Infection
Updated
Updated · Louisana Illuminator · Aug 23
Louisiana 8-Year-Old Dies After Lake Swim Caused Rare Amoeba Infection
3 articles · Updated · Louisana Illuminator · Aug 23
Summary
Lillian Smart, 8, died Saturday at a Ruston hospital after a Naegleria fowleri infection that officials believe she contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne.
The Louisiana Department of Health had reported Wednesday that a state resident was hospitalized with the brain-eating amoeba; the Smart family later identified the patient as Lillian and said her brain injuries were too severe to overcome.
Naegleria fowleri causes a rare brain infection when contaminated freshwater enters the nose, not when swallowed, and symptoms can progress from headache and fever to seizures, coma and death within one to two weeks.
This is believed to be Louisiana's fifth Naegleria fowleri death since 2011; nationwide, the CDC recorded 173 infections since 1937, with about 97% proving fatal and most occurring in July and August.