8-year-old Louisiana girl dies from a rare brain-eating amoeba found in warm freshwater

An eight-year-old Louisiana girl named Lillian Smart has died from an infection caused by the rare brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri. According to her family, she passed away over the weekend following the diagnosis.

The infection is contracted from the amoeba, which is found in warm freshwater environments. Cases of Naegleria fowleri are extremely rare, but the condition is known to be rapidly fatal.