Frankfurt Airport Employee Dies from Malaria Linked to Imported Mosquito

A worker at Frankfurt Airport succumbed to malaria following an uncommon outbreak that infected six staff members with the mosquito‑borne disease.

German health officials suspect the mosquitoes entered the airport aboard an aircraft.

A Fraport spokesperson said the five other infected employees are undergoing medical care.

Authorities have set up traps at the airport; captured mosquitoes will be sent to a lab for species and origin identification.

“It is with deep regret that we confirm one employee has died from the infection,” the Fraport spokesperson told the BBC.

“We have shared detailed information with all staff and urge anyone showing symptoms to seek medical advice.”

The Frankfurt Public Health Department is leading the investigation into the outbreak.

According to the BBC, six male employees working in various roles and locations across the airport have been infected; officials are analysing blood samples to see whether a single mosquito or multiple mosquitoes caused the infections.

On Wednesday, Frankfurt public health officials issued a statement to the media noting that the risk to the general public remains very low, emphasizing that malaria cannot spread between people and is only transmitted by mosquito bites.

They added that laboratory results identifying the infection source are not expected for several weeks.

Earlier reports in July indicated that four workers had been infected.

The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s federal agency for disease control and public health, previously noted that those four employees became ill between July 4 and 6, and that the mosquitoes likely arrived via an aircraft.

The institute stressed that malaria in Germany is almost always contracted by long‑haul travelers returning from endemic regions, and that airport‑acquired transmission is exceptionally rare.

“Without a travel history, diagnosis can be delayed, which raises the likelihood of a severe disease progression,” the institute warned in its epidemiological bulletin.

The institute added that the previous airport‑linked malaria case occurred in 2023, also at Frankfurt Airport.

According to the World Health Organization, malaria is a mosquito‑borne illness primarily found in tropical regions.

The infection, caused by a parasite, is preventable and curable; it does not transmit between people, though symptoms can range from mild to life‑threatening.

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