Malaria outbreak kills two workers at Germany’s busiest airport

Two employees at Germany’s Frankfurt Airport have died in a rare malaria outbreak caused by infected mosquitoes believed to have been accidentally brought in by plane from a malaria-endemic country.

The outbreak began in early July, according to the Frankfurt Public Health Department. The first worker died shortly afterward, with the malaria diagnosis confirmed posthumously. Authorities traced the outbreak to the airport, where operator Fraport set traps and captured several mosquitoes, sending them for genetic analysis to determine their origin. Staff were advised to seek medical attention if symptoms developed.

In mid-July, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s federal disease-control agency, confirmed four cases among airport employees.

“The affected individuals fell ill between July 4 and 6, 2026,” the RKI wrote in its Epidemiological Bulletin. “It is assumed that the infection was transmitted by an infected Anopheles mosquito imported by plane.”

Citing medical sources, local media later reported that a total of six male workers, largely in jobs handling luggage, had been infected.

On Wednesday, Frankfurt health authorities announced that a second infected worker had died. They insisted, however, that “for the population of Frankfurt, the risk is considered very, very low.”

“The disease is not transmissible from person to person but is always transmitted by mosquitoes,” the authorities said in a statement to German media. They did not confirm the total number of cases but said those affected were receiving treatment.

Frankfurt health chief Peter Tinnemann similarly sought to reassure residents, telling DPA news agency that “the risk to the Frankfurt population is insignificant.”

Malaria is a potentially fatal disease caused by Plasmodium parasites spread by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It typically causes fever, chills, headaches and fatigue, while severe cases can lead to organ failure, seizures and coma. The most dangerous form, malaria tropica, can become life-threatening within 24 hours if undetected, though malaria is generally considered preventable and curable with early treatment.

The disease is concentrated mainly in tropical regions, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. The latest WHO data shows an estimated 610,000 people died from malaria worldwide in 2024 out of roughly 282 million cases – around 9 million more infections than the previous year. More than half of the deaths occurred in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Niger.

Malaria cases in Germany normally involve travelers who were infected in endemic countries. In rare cases, however, infected mosquitoes can be carried into the country aboard aircraft, including in luggage, and then bite people on the plane or at the airport – a phenomenon known as “airport malaria.” Europe’s last documented airport-acquired case also occurred at Frankfurt Airport in 2023, according to the RKI.