Lillian Smart, Ruston, Louisiana 8-year-old girl dies from rare amoeba infection while swimming at local Lake Claiborne. A community grieves and mourns.
A 8-year-old Louisiana girl has died after contracting a rare, brain-eating amoeba infection during a recent swim at Lake Claiborne in Ruston, LA,.
Lillian Smart died Saturday, just one day after her birthday, from severe brain injuries caused by Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic ‘brain eating’ amoeba that leads to primary amebic meningoencephalitis.
Reported the Ruston Leader: ‘The CDC determined it was a very rare case, caused by a parasitic amoeba contracted from warm, fresh, stagnant water. Treatment was immediately shipped from Atlanta, and doctors began a specific regimen of eight different drugs to kill the amoeba.’
Deadly freshwater exposure
Despite efforts to treat the ailing girl, Smart’s family confirmed her passing in a statement on social media, expressing gratitude for the community support and asking for continued prayers as they grieve.
Smart was taken to hospital on Aug. 15 after running a sudden fever before mortally succumbing to the rare brain eating infection on Saturday night, August 22.
Her parents, Daniel and Rebecca Smart, took her to Shreveport hospital Willis-Knighton South, where doctors initially diagnosed her with bacterial meningitis after a spinal tap. Doctors soon determined she was dealing with a Naegleria fowleri infection.
8-year-old Ruston, LA girl remembered
‘Last night Lillian ran from our arms to the arms of Jesus,’ Rebecca wrote. ‘The injuries to her brain were too severe for her little body to recover from. Everyone did everything they could to keep her here.’
Smart was described as being known around the Ruston community for her joy. ‘She’s just always a happy child. She’s just as happy a place she goes,’ Patricia Willis, owner of The Children’s Shoppe & Peach Lemonade said. ‘Every time you see her, she has a smile on her face.’
The Louisiana Department of Health previously issued an advisory after confirming the 8-year-old girl’s infection, noting the amoeba typically enters the body through the nose during freshwater exposure.
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