A second airport employee enters Germany has died of malaria after an outbreak among workers, health officials announced.
Six employees at Frankfurt Airport contracted the mosquito-borne infection in early July, most likely after a mosquito traveled to Germany on a plane, the airport’s operator, Fraport, said this week.
Four of the six patients have now recovered, according to Fraport spokesperson Andreas Schopf. It is unclear when the two deaths occurred.
Malaria mainly occurs in the sub-Saharan part of Africa and in the southeast Asiawhich rarely appears in Europe or the US.
Officials said the outbreak at Frankfurt Airport is due to airport malaria, which occurs when people become infected by mosquitoes carried by planes from regions where the disease is prevalent.
It is unclear where the mosquito or mosquitoes that spread the infection came from.
Frankfurt’s public health office said there is no risk to the general public or to people working or traveling at the airport.
Malaria is not spread by human contact, but rather by bites from Anopheles mosquitoes.
Two workers at Frankfurt Airport in Germany (pictured above) have died of malaria, health officials announced
Schopf said mosquito traps have been set up at the airport and the mosquitoes caught in them will be analyzed by the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium to determine their species and origin.
“Although we are still investigating the origin of the mosquitoes found in our traps, it is very likely that they were transported by air to Frankfurt,” he said. reported by The New York Times.
‘We maintain regular contact with the responsible authorities to ensure that any further measures can be coordinated and implemented at an early stage.’
Health officials said five of the infected people first showed symptoms early last month, and the sixth case was reported in mid-August.
No other details about the sick or dead people have been released.
Malaria is caused by a parasite that infects Anopheles mosquitoes, which are found worldwide but are most commonly found in Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America and South America.
When the infected mosquito bites a human, the malaria parasite enters a person’s bloodstream through its saliva. It immediately infects and destroys the oxygen-carrying red blood cells and the liver.
The disease can also be spread from person to person through pregnancy, blood transfusions and needle sharing.
Infected mosquitoes can continue to transmit the virus to multiple people.
Mild symptoms, according to the CDC, include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
About one to two percent of patients progress to severe disease, causing seizures, confusion and multi-organ failure. The malaria parasite can also cause dangerous amounts of acid to build up in the bloodstream, a phenomenon known as acidosis.
Acidosis disrupts normal cellular function, leading to difficulty breathing that can lead to death.
Malaria is spread by the Anopheles mosquito (photo above), which infects humans with a parasite
It is the third time that malaria has been found at Frankfurt airport. In 2019, two male airport workers suffered serious cases. Three employees were also diagnosed in 2022.
Locally transmitted malaria was officially eliminated in the US in 1951 through widespread insect control and prompt treatment with drugs designed to kill the parasite. Germany eliminated malaria in 1964.
The CDC reports about 2,000 cases of malaria in the U.S. each year, mostly among people who have traveled to endemic areas without taking antimalarial pills before their trip.
Locally acquired malaria was last detected in the US in 2023, when 10 cases were reported in Florida, Texas, Maryland and Arkansas due to mosquitoes biting people returning from travel abroad.
Malaria affects nearly 300 million people worldwide and kills 600,000 people annually.
