Two Frankfurt Airport workers die in rare airport-acquired malaria outbreak

Two workers at Frankfurt Airport have died of malaria in an unusual outbreak that German public health officials believe was triggered by a mosquito that arrived on a plane. Six employees in different roles and at different locations across Germany's busiest airport have been infected, the BBC reported, citing the Frankfurt Public Health Department.

Airport operator Fraport confirmed that one employee had died, and Frankfurt public health officials said in a letter to media outlets on Wednesday that two of the six affected individuals had died. Traps have been installed across the airfield and captured mosquitoes are being sent to a laboratory to determine their species and origin. "We have provided comprehensive information to all employees and encourage them to consult a doctor if they experience any symptoms," a Fraport spokesperson told the BBC.

Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the federal agency for disease control, said the original four employees fell ill between 4 and 6 July and that the mosquitoes were brought in by plane. According to the RKI, malaria in Germany almost exclusively affects long-haul travellers who were infected in malaria-endemic countries, and locally acquired mosquito-borne transmission at a German airport is rare. "The lack of a travel history can lead to a delayed diagnosis. A delayed diagnosis increases the risk of a severe course of the diseases," the institute said in its epidemiological bulletin, noting the last case of airport malaria in Germany was recorded in 2023, also at Frankfurt.

Frankfurt's public health authority stressed that the risk to the wider population was "very, very low," because malaria — caused by a parasite spread by certain mosquito species — is not transmissible from person to person. The World Health Organization describes malaria as preventable and curable, though symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening. Health officials said laboratory tests to determine whether the six workers were infected by a single mosquito or several are not expected for several weeks. Blood samples from the patients are also being analysed as part of the investigation.

**Sources:** BBC