Two Frankfurt Airport workers die in rare malaria outbreak

Two employees at Frankfurt Airport have died after contracting malaria in a rare outbreak believed to have been caused by infected mosquitoes carried into Germany aboard an aircraft.

Six airport workers have been diagnosed with malaria tropica, the most dangerous form of the disease, since July. One employee became ill and died in early July, although malaria was identified only after his death. A second fatal case occurred in August. The other four workers received hospital treatment and are reportedly no longer in danger.

None of those affected had recently travelled to a malaria-endemic region. Germany’s Robert Koch Institute therefore considers “airport malaria”—transmission by an infected Anopheles mosquito arriving on an aircraft or in baggage—the most likely explanation. Direct person-to-person transmission has been ruled out.

Mosquito traps and monitoring equipment have been installed around the airport. Blood samples and captured insects are being analysed, with the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp involved in identifying the parasite and possible mosquito species.

Frankfurt’s health authority said the risk to passengers and the general population remains very low. Airport employees and local doctors have nevertheless been advised to remain alert for unexplained fever, chills, headaches, nausea or other possible malaria symptoms.

Airport malaria is extremely rare in Europe. Germany’s previous known case was also recorded near Frankfurt Airport in 2023. Because the disease is uncommon in the country, diagnosis can be delayed, increasing the risk of serious complications.

Sources: City of Frankfurt health authority, Hessenschau.