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Eight-Year-Old Louisiana Girl Dies After Contracting Brain-Eating Amoeba
Just the facts
Lillian Smart was hospitalized on August 15 after developing symptoms following a swim in Lake Claiborne in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. Her family announced that she died on Saturday from severe brain inflammation caused by the organism. Naegleria fowleri is a microscopic amoeba commonly found in warm freshwater bodies that causes brain infections when water enters through the nasal passages. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 180 cases have been documented in the United States since 1937.
Why this is news
Eight-year-old Lillian Smart of Ruston, Louisiana, contracted Naegleria fowleri after swimming in Lake Claiborne. The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed the infection, which leads to primary amebic meningoencephalitis.
Sources
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