A worker at Frankfurt Airport has died of malaria after contracting the disease in a rare outbreak that has sickened six employees, German authorities said.
The outbreak is believed to have been caused by malaria-carrying mosquitoes that arrived at Germany’s busiest airport aboard an aircraft, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany’s federal disease-control and public-health agency.
Five other airport workers who contracted the infection are receiving medical treatment, airport operator Fraport said.
“Sadly, we must confirm that one employee has died as a result of the infection,” a Fraport spokesperson told the BBC.
“We have provided comprehensive information to all employees and encourage them to consult a doctor if they experience any symptoms.”
The airport has installed mosquito traps, with captured insects to be analysed in laboratories to determine their species and possible origin.
A rare form of malaria transmission
Malaria is not normally transmitted within Germany. The country has been free of endemic malaria transmission, and most cases recorded there occur among people who contracted the disease while travelling to malaria-endemic countries.
The RKI said four of the initial cases became ill between July 4 and 6 and had no travel history that would explain the infections. It said the mosquitoes were believed to have been brought into the country by aircraft.
The institute has warned that the absence of a travel history could delay diagnosis, potentially increasing the risk of severe disease.
The last reported case of so-called airport malaria in Germany also occurred at Frankfurt Airport, in 2023.
The outbreak is unusual in Germany but highlights the continuing global threat posed by malaria, particularly in Africa, where the disease remains one of the biggest causes of preventable illness and death.
The World Health Organization estimates that 282 million people contracted malaria and 610,000 died from the disease globally in 2024. About 95% of both cases and deaths occurred in the WHO African Region. Children under five accounted for about three-quarters of malaria deaths in the region.
Nigeria carries the world’s largest malaria burden. WHO estimates that the country accounted for 31.9% of malaria deaths globally in 2024, making it the single biggest contributor to the worldwide death toll.
Nigeria accounted for about 27% of the global malaria burden and nearly 200,000 malaria deaths in 2023, according to WHO.
Malaria is caused by parasites transmitted through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable, but infection can become life-threatening if treatment is delayed.
For people in malaria-endemic countries such as Nigeria, the disease is familiar. For Germany, where locally acquired transmission is exceptionally rare, the Frankfurt outbreak has prompted heightened surveillance because infected mosquitoes can potentially establish transmission if they encounter suitable conditions and susceptible people.
The RKI said malaria in Germany is almost exclusively associated with travellers returning from endemic regions, making transmission linked to mosquitoes arriving on aircraft an unusual occurrence.
The outbreak also comes as malaria control faces growing challenges globally, including antimalarial drug resistance, insecticide resistance and the spread of mosquito species capable of transmitting malaria in new environments.
WHO has warned that these threats, combined with climate change, population movement and weaknesses in health systems, could undermine recent progress against the disease.
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