Mystery mosquito outbreak at Frankfurt Airport claims one life, infects five
By Lai Gidado
A rare malaria outbreak at Germany’s busiest airport has killed one worker and infected five others, triggering an urgent investigation by health authorities into how the mosquito-borne disease spread among employees at Frankfurt Airport.
Officials believe the mosquitoes responsible for the infections may have arrived at Germany’s busiest airport aboard an international aircraft.
A spokesperson for airport operator Fraport confirmed the death, saying the five other infected workers were receiving medical treatment.
“Sadly, we must confirm that one employee has died as a result of the infection,” the spokesperson told the BBC.
“We have provided comprehensive information to all employees and encourage them to consult a doctor if they experience any symptoms.”
The outbreak is being investigated by the Frankfurt Public Health Department, while authorities have installed mosquito traps across the airport.
Mosquitoes captured in the traps will be analysed in a laboratory to determine their species and possible origin.
According to reports, the six infected workers, all men, were employed in different roles and worked in different areas of the airport. Health officials are also analysing blood samples to establish whether they were infected by a single mosquito or by several different mosquitoes.
Frankfurt public health officials said the risk to the wider population remained “very, very low”, stressing that malaria cannot be transmitted directly from one person to another.
“The disease is not transmissible from person to person but is always transmitted by mosquitoes,” the authorities said in a letter to media organisations.
They added that laboratory tests aimed at determining the source of the infections could take several weeks.
The outbreak had earlier been reported in July, when four airport workers were confirmed to have contracted the disease.
The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s federal agency for disease control and public health, said the four workers fell ill between July 4 and 6, with preliminary findings suggesting the mosquitoes responsible may have been transported to Germany by plane.
The institute noted that malaria cases in Germany almost exclusively involve travellers returning from malaria-endemic countries, making local transmission within an airport extremely rare.
“The lack of a travel history can lead to a delayed diagnosis. A delayed diagnosis increases the risk of a severe course of the disease,” the institute said in its epidemiological bulletin.
The most recent previous case of so-called “airport malaria” in Germany was also recorded at Frankfurt Airport in 2023.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by parasites and is more common in tropical countries, according to the World Health Organisation.
Although the disease is preventable and curable, symptoms can range from mild illness to life-threatening complications if treatment is delayed.
