Girl, 8, dies from rare brain-eating parasite after swimming in lake on family trip as devastated parents pay tribute

AN eight-year-old girl has died from a rare brain-eating parasite after swimming in a lake on a family trip. Lillian Smart’s parents said they have been left “heartbroken” after their daughter’s tragic death just one day after celebrating her birthday. Lillian was infected with Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic amoeba Credit: Love for Lillian/Facebook The amoeba can cause a rare and often deadly brain infection Credit: Love for Lillian/Facebook Following Lillian’s death from the infection, which she likely picked up while swimming in Lake Claiborne, her family said they were left unable to see how to “put one foot in front of the other”. The rare microscopic amoeba, called Naegleria fowleri, is found in warm freshwater across the southern states of the US and can cause a fatal brain infection. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! In a post on their Love for Lillian Facebook page, her family said: “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. Lillian with her heartbroken parents Credit: Love for Lillian/Facebook Lillian had turned eight the day before she died Credit: Love for Lillian/Facebook The infection attacks the brain and is often fatal Credit: Love for Lillian/Facebook Lillian’s family have paid tribute to their daughter Credit: Love for Lillian/Facebook “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?”. Her family said that Lillian had been admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at a Ruston hospital and identified Naegleria fowleri as the cause of her illness, in a social media post. Naegleria fowleri causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, an extremely rare brain infection. Most read in Health It can only develop when contaminated water enters the nose and the amoeba travels to the brain. People cannot become ill from swallowing contaminated water. The rare but fast-moving brain infection is nearly always fatal, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Lillian had been fighting the infection in hospital since August 15, according to local news outlets. The Louisiana Department of Health had announced that one person had been infected with the rare type of single cell organism. There have been three other deaths from Naegleria fowleri in the state since 2011, the department said. A 20-year-old man in St Bernard Parish died after he used tap water to rinse his sinuses in 2011, while a 51-year-old woman in DeSoto Parish died after using tap water for a similar purpose, the New York Post reports. In 2013, a four-year-old boy contracted the amoeba while visiting a home in St Bernard Parish, where he had played on a slip-and-slide. A 12-year-old boy died from the same infection last year after he went swimming in a lake in South Carolina. In another case, a 71-year-old woman in Texas died from the serious infection after she used water from a campground to rinse her sinuses. The illness typically begins with headache, fever, nausea and vomiting before progressing to a stiff neck, seizures and coma. The disease can cause death within two weeks. Comment now