Airport Workers Killed by ‘Mosquito on Plane’

Two airport workers have died and four others were sickened in a bizarre malaria outbreak that health officials believe may have been caused by infected mosquitoes carried into Germany aboard an airplane.

All six men worked at Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest airport, and none had recently traveled to a region where malaria is common — immediately raising questions about how they became infected.

The first cases emerged in mid-July. One worker died that month, while a second death occurred in August and was confirmed this week.

Germany’s Robert Koch Institute believes the most likely explanation is so-called “airport malaria,” a rare phenomenon in which an infected mosquito survives a flight from a malaria-stricken region and later bites someone at or near an airport.

The mosquito could potentially have hitched a ride inside an aircraft, luggage or cargo before making its way into the airport.

The six infected workers reportedly worked in different parts of Frankfurt Airport, making the outbreak even more unusual.

Investigators are now using blood tests to determine whether all six infections may have been linked to the same mosquito or whether several infected insects made it into the airport.

Mosquito traps have also been placed around the sprawling facility as authorities attempt to determine whether any infected mosquitoes remain.

Frankfurt Airport handled roughly 63.2 million passengers last year, making it one of Europe’s major international travel hubs.

Workers have been informed about the outbreak and told to watch closely for possible symptoms.

Germany has not experienced locally established malaria transmission since the 1950s, according to the Robert Koch Institute.

However, this is apparently not Frankfurt Airport’s first brush with the rare phenomenon. Another case of airport malaria was reported there in 2023.

Malaria is transmitted through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Just one bite can introduce the malaria parasite into a person’s bloodstream.

Symptoms can include high fever, chills, sweating, headaches, muscle pain, extreme fatigue, confusion, sore throat and yellowing of the whites of the eyes.

Symptoms commonly appear between seven and 18 days after an infected mosquito bite, although the timing can vary.

Malaria can usually be successfully treated when diagnosed quickly, but the disease remains deadly worldwide and kills hundreds of thousands of people each year, with the vast majority of deaths occurring in Africa.

The alarming Frankfurt cases show how international air travel can, in extremely rare circumstances, allow tropical disease-carrying mosquitoes to travel thousands of miles — even when the people they eventually infect never leave home.