Louisiana girl, 8, dies after contracting suspected brain-eating amoeba linked to lake swim

An 8-year-old girl in Louisiana named Lillian Smart died after contracting *Naegleria fowleri*, a brain-eating amoeba, believed to be acquired while swimming in a northern lake. This pathogen causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare and often deadly brain infection that can develop when contaminated water enters the nose.