Two employees of Frankfurt Airport in Germany have died from malaria, while five others have fallen ill and are in hospital. The infection was likely transmitted by a mosquito that may have entered Germany aboard an aircraft, Frankfurt authorities said, according to UNN.
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Germany’s national expert on infectious diseases believes that a malaria mosquito may have arrived by plane from a region where the disease is widespread.
Special mosquito traps have been set up at the airport. The captured insects will be sent to the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, for genetic testing, which should help determine their origin.
An airport spokesperson said that the five infected employees are receiving treatment in hospital. The circumstances of the infections and the possible source of the infection are currently being established.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, the last malaria outbreak in Germany linked to airports occurred in 2023.
Malaria is caused by parasites transmitted through mosquito bites. The main symptoms of the disease include nausea, headache, high fever and chills. With timely diagnosis, malaria can be treated, and patients usually make a full recovery.
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