Malaria kills Frankfurt airport worker, five treated

A worker at Germany's Frankfurt airport has died after contracting malaria, and five other employees are being treated, airport and health officials said Wednesday.

The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's government health agency, said six employees at the country's biggest airport had caught malaria. It said the likely cause was an imported Anopheles mosquito carried by an aircraft.

An airport spokesman confirmed the death and said mosquito traps had been installed at the airport. Mosquitoes caught there will be sent to the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, for genetic tests to learn more about their origin.

The Robert Koch Institute said Germany's last outbreak of airport-based malaria was in 2023. It said the condition's rarity can delay diagnosis and increase the risk of severe symptoms.

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.