Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, has warned beachgoers about Vibrio vulnificus, a flesh-eating bacteria found in warm salt waters in the US. This bacteria poses a significant threat, with nine cases already reported in Florida and five deaths in Louisiana.

The dangers don’t stop there. In Louisiana, an 8-year-old girl named Lillian Smart passed away after contracting a brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, while swimming in a northern Louisiana lake. Her family shared their heartbreak on Facebook, stating, “The injuries to her brain were too severe for her little body to recover from.”

The Louisiana Department of Health announced the hospitalization of a state resident infected with Naegleria fowleri, leading to Lillian’s tragic passing. Her family confirmed she was admitted to the Ruston hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit, with the infection most likely contracted from Lake Claiborne.

Records indicate three previous Naegleria fowleri-related deaths in Louisiana since 2011. A 20-year-old man died in St. Bernard Parish after using tap water to rinse his sinuses, and a 51-year-old woman in DeSoto Parish passed away from using tap water similarly. Additionally, a 4-year-old boy contracted the amoeba at a St. Bernard Parish home, revealed by CDC testing to have the pathogen in the parish water system.

Naegleria fowleri causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a brain infection that occurs when contaminated water enters the nose. Pool water, if properly chlorinated, does not pose this risk. Early PAM symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, progressing to stiff neck, seizures, and coma. Symptoms typically appear around five days post-infection, with a high mortality rate.

The CDC reports about 97% of PAM cases result in death, with most infections occurring during July and August. Last year, two PAM cases were reported nationwide. Out of 173 infections in the past 90 years, nearly 91% occurred in these months.