Two employees at Germany’s Frankfurt Airport have died after contracting malaria, which is believed to have been spread by mosquitoes brought into the country by planes.
Airport operator Fraport told CNN that a total of six employees have contracted the disease known as airport malaria. Two people subsequently died.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague. Our thoughts are with their families and friends,” Fraport said.
Four other employees have since recovered, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported.
Airport malaria is a very rare form of transmission of the disease, which occurs when mosquitoes that survive a flight from a malaria-endemic country transmit the disease in or near an airport.
In mid-July, Germany’s national public health institute, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), announced an outbreak of malaria among airport workers, with several people falling ill between July 4th and 6th.
The RKI noted that the disease is believed to have been spread by Anopheles mosquitoes brought to Germany by plane.
Frankfurt health authorities are investigating the incident.
The RKI said malaria among Germans almost exclusively occurs in long-distance travelers who are infected by infected mosquitoes in areas where malaria is endemic, adding that infections at airports are rare and diagnosis can be delayed as medical professionals rarely suspect malaria in the first place.
Early diagnosis and treatment of malaria is important to prevent serious illness and death, it added.
Fraport said it has since advised its employees to inform their doctors that they work at Frankfurt Airport and that cases of airport malaria have been reported “to ensure that they receive appropriate medical examination and treatment.”
Fraport added that mosquito traps are now being installed at the airport and that captured mosquitoes will be genetically analyzed at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium to determine their species and origin.
According to the RKI, the last malaria outbreak at a German airport was in 2023, also at Frankfurt Airport.
Frankfurt Airport is considered the busiest in Germany in terms of passenger numbers. It is also the main hub for the country’s flagship airline, Lufthansa.
