Louisiana girl, 8, dies after rare amoeba infection tied to lake swim
Why it matters: State records show only three previous Louisiana deaths linked to Naegleria fowleri since 2011.
An 8-year-old girl from Ruston, Louisiana, died after a rare brain-eating amoeba infection that health officials linked to a swim in Lake Claiborne. Family members identified her as Lillian Smart and said she died Saturday at a Ruston hospital, one day after her eighth birthday. The Louisiana Department of Health had said earlier that a state resident was hospitalized with Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic amoeba that can cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a usually deadly brain infection. Officials said the infection was most likely acquired while swimming in the northern Louisiana reservoir shortly before the patient became ill. State records cited by Fox News show three previous Louisiana deaths tied to the amoeba since 2011.