Lillian Smart, an eight-year-old from Ruston, Louisiana, has died after contracting Naegleria fowleri — a rare, almost universally fatal brain-eating amoeba — following a swim in Lake Claiborne. Louisiana health authorities confirmed the infection on 19 August, stating the exposure most likely occurred at the lake; Lillian had been hospitalised since 15 August and died on Saturday, one day after her birthday. Naegleria fowleri thrives in warm freshwater and has been linked to only around 180 confirmed US cases since 1937, though experts warn that climate change is expanding its range beyond its traditional stronghold in southern states.