Two workers at Germany’s Frankfurt airport who caught malaria from a mosquito thought to have arrived on a plane have died, the city’s health authority said this week. Airport officials had earlier said one employee had perished, with six workers infected.
German health officials are seeking to reassure the public after two workers at the country’s biggest airport died of malaria. Mosquito traps have been set up at Frankfurt airport and a mosquito monitoring process is under way. A detailed investigation is being conducted to clarify how the workers contracted the disease.
Since last month, six people are known to have caught malaria tropica – the most dangerous form of the disease – in connection with their work at the airport. Of the two that have died, one began getting sick at the start of July and the other in mid-August. The four other people who were infected have been treated in hospital and are now out of danger, according to Frankfurt’s public health department. Letters have been sent to all airport workers to raise awareness about symptoms and urge vigilance.
A plane’s accidental mosquito cargo seems to have caused a deadly outbreak of malaria in an unexpected place—Germany. Officials with the Frankfurt Public Health Department provided updates on the unusual outbreak this week. At least six workers at the Frankfurt Airport contracted the infection, two of whom subsequently died. Officials are still trying to determine the exact origin of the cases and have set mosquito traps at the airport. Airport malaria Malaria is caused by several species of the single-celled parasite Plasmodium. When an infected mosquito transmits the disease to a person, the parasites will first invade certain tissues, reproduce, and then infect red blood cells. Its symptoms usually include fatigue, chills, and other flu-like illness, but the infection can sometimes turn life-threatening. The outbreak was actually first identified in early July.
Anfang Juli haben sich sechs Flughafenmitarbeiter in Frankfurt mit Malaria infiziert – inzwischen sind zwei Menschen gestorben. Ursache der Infektion sollen importierte Mücken sein. Klicken Sie hier, um sich Artikel von WELT in der Google-Suche bevorzugt anzeigen zu lassen. An den Folgen einer Malaria-Erkrankung sind bereits zwei Beschäftigte am Frankfurter Flughafen gestorben. Der erste Todesfall ereignete sich schon Anfang Juli, wie das Gesundheitsamt der Stadt Frankfurt mitteilte. Die Ursache sei jedoch erst nach dem Tod des Patienten festgestellt worden. Der zweite Todesfall war den Angaben zufolge im August. Ursache der Infektionen sollen Mücken aus einem Malariagebiet sein, die mutmaßlich mit dem Flugzeug nach Deutschland kamen. Das Frankfurter Gesundheitsamt teilte mit, dass insgesamt sechs Beschäftigte betroffen waren, die sich im Rahmen ihrer Arbeit mit Malaria
Two Frankfurt Airport workers have died of malaria after a rare outbreak led to six employees contracting the serious infection spread by mosquitoes. It is believed the mosquitoes arrived at Germany’s busiest airport on a plane, according to German public health officials, triggering an outbreak which was first detected in July. A spokesperson for airport operator Fraport told the BBC an employee had died as a result of the infection, while public health officials said later on Wednesday that two of the affected individuals had died.
Traps have been installed at the airport and mosquitoes captured will be analysed in a laboratory to determine their species and origin. We have provided comprehensive information to all employees and encourage them to consult a doctor if they experience any symptoms,
the Fraport spokesperson told the BBC.
An den Folgen einer Malaria-Erkrankung sind bereits zwei Beschäftigte am Frankfurter Flughafen gestorben. Der erste Todesfall ereignete sich schon Anfang Juli, wie das Gesundheitsamt der Stadt Frankfurt mitteilte. Die Ursache sei jedoch erst nach dem Tod des Patienten festgestellt worden. Ursache der Infektionen sollen Mücken aus einem Malariagebiet sein, die mutmaßlich mit dem Flugzeug nach Deutschland kamen. Das Frankfurter Gesundheitsamt teilte mit, dass insgesamt sechs Beschäftigte betroffen waren, die sich im Rahmen ihrer Arbeit mit Malaria tropica angesteckt hatten – der gefährlichsten Varia
Robert Koch Institute
BBC News
Traps have been installed at the airport and mosquitoes captured will be analyzed in a laboratory to determine their species and origin, BBC News reported. We have provided comprehensive information to all employees and encourage them to consult a doctor if they experience any symptoms,
an airport spokesperson told the BBC. According to the RKI, Germany’s last outbreak of airport-based malaria was in 2023.
Frankfurt Airport
A rare outbreak of malaria has killed two employees at Frankfurt Airport, and the total number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease are six, the BBC reports. German health authorities believe that mosquitoes arrived at Germany’s busiest airport on planes. The outbreak was first detected in July. A spokesman for airport operator Fraport told the BBC that one employee had died of malaria, but health officials later said on the 26th of August that two had died.
Fraport
Mosquito traps have been set up at airports and the mosquitoes caught will be tested in a laboratory to determine their species and origin. A Fraport spokesman told the BBC that staff have been fully informed and are encouraged to seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms. The outbreak is being investigated by Frankfurt’s public health department.
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