2026年8月24日 / 美国东部时间下午4:51 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
路易斯安那州一名8岁女孩在感染极为罕见的暖淡水生食脑变形虫后去世，其家人证实了这一消息。
据其家人的发言人凯尔·罗伯茨透露，莉莲·斯马特在被诊断出感染福氏耐格里变形虫后于周末离世。卫生部门将这种变形虫称为“食脑变形虫”，它们在美国各地的淡水水域中大量滋生，可通过鼻腔侵入人体并引发感染，几乎无一例外都会导致死亡。美国年均确诊病例不足10例。
“昨晚莉莲挣脱了我们的怀抱，投入了耶稣的怀中，”她的父母丹尼尔·斯马特和丽贝卡·斯马特周日在脸书的公开帖文中写道，“她的大脑损伤过于严重，小小的身体无法恢复。所有人都尽了全力想要留住她。”
路易斯安那州卫生部门上周表示，该州自2013年以来首次确诊福氏耐格里变形虫感染病例。该部门发言人斯泰西·格罗表示，部门未公开斯马特的身份，且不会就单个病例或具体患者置评。
“听闻莉莲离世的消息，我们心碎不已，”路易斯安那州州长杰夫·兰德里在X平台上写道。
路易斯安那州卫生部门称，此次感染大概率是在路易斯安那州北部的克莱伯恩湖游泳时染上的。
这种变形虫可引发致命的原发性阿米巴脑膜脑炎，简称PAM。据该卫生部门数据，1937年至2025年间，美国仅确诊约180例病例，且“几乎全部致命”。
卫生官员表示，尽管福氏耐格里变形虫在美国各地的暖淡水湖泊、河流、运河和池塘中都很常见，但感染病例十分罕见。美国疾病控制与预防中心指出，只有当水被挤进鼻腔并侵入大脑时才会引发感染，这类情况可能发生在休闲淡水活动中。
这种变形虫在水温持续高于77华氏度的环境中才会变得危险，多年来几乎仅在夏季出现在美国南部地区。不过科学家称，近期马里兰州、印第安纳州和明尼苏达州也出现了少数病例。
“这种变形虫是自然存在的，目前没有针对水域中福氏耐格里变形虫的常规环境检测方法，”路易斯安那州卫生部门表示。
去年，南卡罗来纳州一名12岁男孩也因感染这种变形虫去世。
为降低感染风险，疾控中心建议在跳入淡水或在温泉中戏水时捂住鼻子或佩戴鼻夹，同时避免让头部没入水中。感染症状包括恶心、呕吐、发烧、剧烈头痛、颈部僵硬、癫痫发作、意识状态改变以及幻觉。
饮用受污染的水或接触已感染者均不会感染福氏耐格里变形虫。
Girl, 8, dies from brain-eating amoeba infection in Louisiana, family says
August 24, 2026 / 4:51 PM EDT / CBS/AP
An 8-year-old girl in Louisiana has died after being infected by an extremely rare brain-eating amoeba that is found in warm freshwater, her family says.
Lillian Smart died over the weekend after being diagnosed with an infection from Naegleria fowleri, according to Kyle Roberts, a spokesperson for her family. Health authorities describe it as a “brain-eating amoeba” that thrives in freshwater bodies around the U.S. and can shoot up the nose and cause an infection that almost always proves fatal. On average, there are fewer than 10 cases annually in the U.S.
“Last night Lillian ran from our arms to the arms of Jesus,” her parents, Daniel and Rebecca Smart, wrote Sunday in a public post on Facebook. “The injuries to her brain were too severe for her little body to recover from. Everyone did everything they could to keep her here.”
This undated photo shows Lillian Smart. Katie McCormick / Love for Lillian Facebook via AP
The Louisiana Department of Health said last week that the state had experienced its first confirmed Naegleria fowleri infection since 2013. The department, which did not identify Smart, does not comment on individual cases or specific patients, according to spokesperson Stacey Grow.
“Heartbroken over the news of Lillian’s passing,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry wrote on X.
The infection was likely contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne in north Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Health said.
The amoeba can lead to a fatal infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM. Between 1937 and 2025, there have only been approximately 180 confirmed infections in the U.S., according to the health department, which added that the cases are “nearly always fatal.”
While the Naegleria fowleri organism is common in warm freshwater lakes, rivers, canals and ponds throughout the U.S., the infection is rare, health officials say. It occurs when water is forced up the nose and is able to cross into the brain, which can happen during recreational freshwater activities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
The amoeba becomes dangerous in water that stays over 77 degrees Fahrenheit and for years has been seen almost exclusively in the summer in the southern part of the country. A few recent cases have appeared in Maryland, Indiana and Minnesota, scientists said.
“The amoeba is naturally occurring, and there is no routine environmental test for Naegleria fowleri in bodies of water,” the Louisiana Department of Health said.
Last year, a 12-year-old boy in South Carolina also died from an infection caused by the amoeba.
To reduce the risk of infection, the CDC suggests holding your nose or wearing a nose clip if you are jumping or diving into freshwater or keeping your head above water in hot springs. Signs of infection include nausea, vomiting, fever, a severe headache, stiff neck, seizures, altered mental state and hallucinations.
You cannot get a Naegleria fowleri infection from swallowing contaminated water or from someone else who is infected.
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