Health & Public Health
Frankfurt airport malaria deaths rise to two
Two workers at Frankfurt airport have died after catching malaria, Frankfurt's health authority said Wednesday, in infections linked by Germany's Robert Koch Institute to a mosquito likely carried on an aircraft.
Airport officials had earlier said six workers were infected. An airport spokesman said the other four infected employees were being treated in hospital and that mosquito traps had been installed at the airport.
The Robert Koch Institute said an imported Anopheles mosquito carried over by an aircraft was the likely cause. It said Germany's last outbreak of airport-based malaria was in 2023 and that the rarity of the condition can delay diagnosis, increasing the chance of severe symptoms.
The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, said it would analyse malaria parasites in the patients' blood samples.
Malaria is caused by parasites spread by Anopheles mosquitoes. It can cause nausea, headache and intense waves of fever and chills. Treatments exist, and patients diagnosed early usually make a complete recovery.
Update
An airport spokesman said the four infected employees who had not died were being treated in hospital.
The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp said it would analyse malaria parasites in the patients' blood samples.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 August 2026 at 10:58:49 UTC.
Update
Frankfurt's health authority said two airport workers who caught malaria have died, up from one previously reported death.
The Robert Koch Institute said an imported Anopheles mosquito carried by an aircraft was the likely cause.
AFP's updated text gave conflicting figures for how many infected employees were still being treated.
Source note: AFP news report published on 26 August 2026 at 16:29:21 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The exact aircraft or flight linked to the likely imported mosquito was not identified.
The timing of each worker's infection and death was not specified.
Source
AFP news report published on .