Influencer Rita Ephrem Dead at 31 After Battle with Rare Auto-Inflammatory Disease

Brazilian influencer Rita Ephrem died last week ... according to an announcement on her Instagram account.

The social media star had amassed over 300K followers on the platform and had been documenting her experience living with a rare auto-inflammatory disease.

The touching tribute to the content creator roughly translates to say "her story does not end here," noting ... "It lives on in everything she planted within each of us. We carry on with a sense of longing, but also with gratitude for having walked alongside her."

According to Brazilian news outlet g1, Rita started having some pretty intense symptoms when she was 25 ... things like high fever, joint pain, diarrhea and vomiting. She was ultimately diagnosed with a rare auto-inflammatory condition, the outlet says.

She shared her health journey with her followers, who have flooded her page with messages of love and support since she passed on March 26.

A little under two weeks before her death, Rita's family announced on IG that she was in critical condition -- having been intubated and put on multiple antibiotics.

According to a flier on IG ... Rita's funeral was on March 31 at Paroquia Santa Generosa.

Rita was 31.