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Ruston girl dies of rare brain-eating amoeba infection
Lillian Smart, 8, of Ruston, Louisiana, died Saturday, one day after her eighth birthday, from an infection with Naegleria fowleri, a rare brain-eating amoeba likely contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne. The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed the state's first case since 2013, and officials have emphasized the infection is extremely rare and nearly always fatal.
An 8-year-old girl from Ruston, Louisiana, has died after contracting a rare and nearly always fatal brain infection caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Lillian Smart passed away on Saturday, just one day after celebrating her eighth birthday, according to her family and multiple news reports.
Her parents, Daniel and Rebecca Smart, announced her death in a Sunday morning post on the "Love for Lillian" Facebook page, writing: "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?" The family spokesperson, Kyle Roberts, confirmed the death to the Associated Press.
Health Officials Confirm Infection
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) announced on August 19 that a state resident had been infected with Naegleria fowleri, marking the state's first confirmed infection since 2013. The department did not publicly identify the patient, per spokesperson Stacey Grow, but family friends later confirmed Lillian was the infected resident, as reported by local media including KNOE.
The infection was most likely contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne, a freshwater lake about 30 miles northwest of Ruston, according to the LDH. The health department noted that the amoeba thrives in warm freshwater and becomes dangerous when water containing it enters the nose and travels to the brain, causing primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The infection cannot be contracted by swallowing the water and does not spread from person to person.
A Rare and Often Fatal Infection
Naegleria fowleri infections are extremely rare, with approximately 180 confirmed cases in the United States between 1937 and 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The LDH has described the cases as "nearly always fatal," and the CDC notes that about 97% of people who develop PAM die from it.
The amoeba is found in warm freshwater lakes, rivers, canals, and ponds across the U.S., and it becomes particularly dangerous in water that stays above 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Recent cases have been reported in Maryland, Indiana, Minnesota, and other states, and experts suggest that climate change may be expanding its range northward and westward. Last year, a 12-year-old boy in South Carolina died from the amoeba, and in 2023, a child in Arkansas died after exposure at a country club splash pad.
In Louisiana, LDH records show three previous deaths linked to Naegleria fowleri since 2011: two in 2011 involving tap water used for sinus rinses, and one in 2013 involving a 4-year-old boy who played on a slip-and-slide. Some reports, including The Advocate, cite Lillian as the fourth death in the state since 2011, while The Daily Star suggested she could be the fifth, a discrepancy that reflects differing counts of cases.
Community Support and Outpouring of Grief
Lillian had been hospitalized since August 15, according to KNOE, after her mother posted that she had been admitted following a fever and double vision. Her family reported "significant" brain swelling. More than two dozen businesses in Ruston donated a portion of their sales on August 21 to support the family, and a community fundraiser was held on Friday to celebrate her eighth birthday.
"She's just always a happy child. Every time you see her, she has a smile on her face," Patricia Willis, a local business owner, told KNOE.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry expressed his condolences on X, writing: "Heartbroken over the news of Lillian's passing. Please join Sharon and me in prayer for the Smart family and the entire Ruston community during this time." Senator John Kennedy also said in a statement that he and his wife are "heartbroken" by the news.
Health Officials Urge Precautions
The LDH advises swimmers to keep their heads out of the water and plug their noses when swimming in warm freshwater. There is no routine environmental test for the amoeba, and officials stress that while the infection is extremely rare, it is almost always fatal. Symptoms typically begin with headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, progressing to stiff neck, seizures, and coma, often within five days of exposure, with death occurring one to two weeks later.
How each outlet told it
Fox News — World
Framing: same as NY Post — factual
Facts Included:
Lillian Smart died Saturday at Ruston hospital
Died one day after birthday
Louisiana Department of Health announcement Wednesday
Same past case details as NY Post
Includes additional context on symptoms, transmission, and prevention
Cites CDC statistics on PAM fatality rate and case numbers
Framing: Emphasizes the victim's age and uses the phrase 'contracting rare brain', but is cut off in the headline — emotional
Facts Included:
Lillian died Saturday, one day after birthday
Family's statement on social media
Details of her hospitalisation: fever last Thursday, negative tests for Covid, strep, flu, asyhmmetrical pupils, transferred to Willis-Knighton South Hospital
Community prayer vigil in Ruston
Family's description of celebrating her birthday in hospital and making 'decisions bigger than most will make in a lifetime'
Parents' quotes: 'Our foundation is still in Jesus'
Believed to be the fifth Louisiana death since 2011
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
Claim8-year-old Lillian Smart of Louisiana died after being infected with Naegleria fowleri.
ClaimThe Louisiana Department of Health did not publicly identify Lillian Smart as the infected patient, citing policy not to comment on individual cases.
ClaimThe Louisiana Department of Health stated: 'The amoeba is naturally occurring, and there is no routine environmental test for Naegleria fowleri in bodies of water.'
ClaimIn 2011, a 20-year-old man in St. Bernard Parish died after using tap water to rinse his sinuses, and a 51-year-old woman in DeSoto Parish died after using tap water for a similar purpose.
ClaimIn 2013, a 4-year-old boy contracted Naegleria fowleri while playing on a slip-and-slide at a home in St. Bernard Parish; CDC testing later detected the amoeba in the parish water system.
ClaimThe LDH says there have been 180 known cases of PAM in the U.S. from 1937 to 2025, with just three cases of Naegleria fowleri occurring in Louisiana during that period.
ClaimLillian Smart's symptom progression began with fever last Thursday, fatigue, negative tests for COVID-19, flu and strep, then double vision and asymmetrical pupils.
ClaimAfter symptoms start, Naegleria fowleri typically leads to death within five days, although that can range from one to 18 days, according to the CDC.
ClaimPeople can become infected with Naegleria fowleri after using contaminated tap water for nasal rinsing, such as with a neti pot or sinus irrigation device.
ClaimThe LDH said: 'Because algal blooms can move and change quickly, LDH recommends avoiding areas where a bloom is visible or suspected. You cannot tell whether a bloom is producing toxins just by looking at it.'
ClaimThe Facebook post said: '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.'
19 outlets · 19 articles consulted: Fox News — World, ABC7 Los Angeles, Baltimore Sun, The Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, CP24, Boulder Daily Camera, The daily Star, FOX Weather, The Independent, New York Post, Santa Ana Orange County Register, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, San Diego Union-Tribune, Baton Rouge Advocate, The News International, Yahoo News New Zealand, The Guardian — World56 claims extractedVersion 7Written 2026-08-24