Mosquito travels to Germany on plane, kills airport staffer with malaria, infects 6

An employee at Germany's Frankfurt Airport has died from malaria even as six others are infected. Health authorities suspect a mosquito carried on a flight from a malaria-endemic region infected the airport staffers.Frankfurt Airport is one of the busiest airports in Germany. (Image: Getty)An employee at Germany's Frankfurt Airport died of malaria on Wednesday after a very rare outbreak infected six airport workers, with health authorities suspecting that the disease was transmitted by a mosquito that arrived on a plane from a malaria-endemic region.The airport operator, Fraport, confirmed that an employee had died from the infection, while five others are undergoing medical treatment. The infections are believed to be linked to a mosquito that travelled by aircraft to Frankfurt Airport, Germany's busiest airport, likely from a malaria-endemic area in July.German public health authorities are investigating the source of the outbreak."Sadly, we must confirm that one employee has died as a result of the infection," a Fraport spokesperson told the BBC. Fraport in its official statement said it has provided information to employees and advised them to seek medical attention if they develop symptoms associated with malaria. The airport has also installed mosquito traps, with captured insects being sent to laboratories for analysis to determine their species and possible origin.According to the France-based television news network Euronews, the outbreak was initially reported in July, when four airport workers were known to have contracted malaria. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's federal agency for disease control and public health, the four workers fell ill between July 4 and 6. The institute had said at the time that the mosquito or mosquitoes were likely brought into Germany by plane.MALARIA EXTREMELY UNCOMMON, KILLS ONE IN GERMANYMalaria is extremely uncommon in Germany and is generally associated with people who have travelled to countries where the disease is endemic. The RKI has also said that malaria transmission within a German airport is very rare.The Frankfurt Health Department has described "airport malaria" as an exceptionally rare form of transmission outside malaria-endemic regions. It also stressed that human-to-human transmission does not play a role in such cases, according the Euronews report on Wednesday.According to France-based television news network, a study examining airport- and baggage-borne malaria cases across Europe between 1969 and 2024 identified 145 cases, including nine in Germany.The RKI has noted that some species of Anopheles mosquitoes capable of transmitting malaria are present in Germany. However, transmission under local conditions has been extremely rare.The disease is caused by parasites transmitted through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Unlike diseases that spread directly between people, malaria does not ordinarily pass from one person to another.The World Health Organization (WHO) says malaria can cause symptoms including fever, headache and breathing difficulties, while severe infections can lead to seizures, coma and death. The disease is preventable and curable, but can become life-threatening if diagnosis and treatment are delayed.The RKI has previously warned that malaria cases in Germany can be difficult to identify when patients have no history of travel to malaria-endemic regions. A delayed diagnosis can increase the risk of severe disease.The BBC, citing Germany's federal agency for disease control and public health RKI, reported that the last recorded case of airport malaria in Frankfurt was in 2023. The latest outbreak has prompted increased monitoring at the airport as authorities work to determine the mosquito’s species and trace its origin.- EndsPublished By: Avinash KateelPublished On: Aug 26, 2026 18:59 IST