8-year-old Louisiana girl dies after rare freshwater amoeba infection

An 8-year-old girl from Louisiana died over the weekend after being diagnosed with an infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, a rare amoeba that can enter the brain through the nose when a person swims in warm freshwater. The Louisiana Department of Health said the infection was likely contracted while the child was swimming in Lake Claiborne in northern Louisiana. The state has not identified the patient by name, but a family spokesperson confirmed the death.

The department noted that fewer than 10 cases of Naegleria fowleri infection are reported in the United States each year, and that the organism thrives in water temperatures above 77°F (25°C). Since 1937, approximately 180 cases have been confirmed nationwide, and the infection is almost always fatal.

"Heartbroken over the news of Lillian’s passing," Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry wrote on the social platform X.

The agency also explained that the amoeba is naturally occurring in lakes, rivers, canals and ponds, and there is no routine testing of water bodies for its presence. The infection cannot be transmitted from person to person. The last confirmed case in Louisiana before this incident occurred in 2013, and a similar fatal case involving a 12-year-old boy was reported in South Carolina last year.