Germany: Third malaria death linked to Frankfurt Airport

A person living near the Schwanheim district of Frankfurt died of malaria, local authorities said on Thursday. The incident is the third such death after a recent cluster of malaria cases linked to Frankfurt Airport emerged.

Two airport workers died of the disease in July and August.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease transmitted by mosquitoes and causes hundreds of thousands of deaths per year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is not common in Germany.

Schwanheim district, which borders the airport, registered two new malaria cases on Tuesday this week. Neither of the two infected individuals, both living in different households, had previously visited a malaria-endemic area and they did not work at Frankfurt airport.

Frankfurt health authorities extended their condolences to the relatives of the latest victims and said the two latest cases in the Schwanheim district were linked to an infected Anopheles mosquito that arrived in Germany by plane.

Germany's public health institute, the Robert Koch Institute, said malaria mosquitoes can fly between 5 and 10 kilometers (3 to 6 miles). The registered infections occurred some 5 kilometers away from the airport. 

What is airport malaria?

Malaria cases in Germany normally involve people who have contracted the disease while traveling abroad. But in this instance, the cases are attributed directly to Frankfurt Airport.

Airport malaria can occur when an infected mosquito is transported on an aircraft or in luggage and then infects someone on the plane, at the airport or in the immediate surrounding area.

The RKI describes such cases as very rare, with the last documented case at Frankfurt Airport having been recorded in 2023.

Because patients may not have traveled to a malaria-risk area, the disease can also be diagnosed later than usual.

Mosquito traps have been installed at the airport. Mosquitoes captured there are being genetically analyzed at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp to determine their species and origin.

Still, Frankfurt Airport urged employees at the airport to seek medical attention if they develop symptoms.

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Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah

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