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An employee at Frankfurt Airport has died of malaria, a spokesperson for the facility’s operator Fraport said on Wednesday.
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A further five employees at the airport also contracted the infectious disease and are receiving medical treatment.
The cause of the infections is believed to be a mosquito that travelled by plane from a malaria-endemic area to Germany, likely in July.
Fraport says its focus is now on information and prevention. Employees are being advised to see a doctor if they experience any malaria-like symptoms and to tell medics they work at the airport.
Mosquito traps have also been set up at the airport to catch the insects so they can be taken to a lab for examination.
Rare transmission
The federal agency for disease control and prevention, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), said such cases are “very rare.”
Malaria is transmitted to humans by Anopheles mosquitoes if they have previously become infected themselves.
The RKI says there are some Anopheles species in Germany that can transmit malaria pathogens under suitable environmental conditions, but such cases have been extremely rare.
According to the Frankfurt Health Department, so-called “airport malaria” is a very rare transmission route outside of a malaria-endemic area.
“Human-to-human transmission plays no role in airport malaria,” a spokesperson said.
A study aiming to record all cases of airport and baggage-borne malaria in Europe from 1969 to 2024 identified a total of 145 cases, nine of which were in Germany.
Malaria can be life-threatening and according to the World Health Organisation symptoms include fever, headaches, breathing difficulties and seizures.
“The disease can lead to coma and death, especially among high-risk groups,” the German Foreign Office said.
Protection against mosquito bites can help prevent the spread of the disease.