Four workers at Frankfurt Airport contracted malaria last week, an airport spokesperson said. The tropical disease is believed to have been transmitted by a mosquito that entered an aircraft.
The individuals involved worked in baggage handling. The spokesperson could not specify whether they required hospitalisation.
Despite security measures, it is possible that a mosquito could have entered the cargo and bitten as soon as it saw daylight. The last case of malaria at Frankfurt Airport was recorded in 2023.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) indicates that German travellers contract malaria almost exclusively while staying in an area where the disease is prevalent. In contrast, contracting malaria at the airport is “very rare,” according to the RKI.
A study published in the journal Eurosurveillance recorded all cases of malaria contracted in airports or via luggage in Europe between 1969 and 2024.
It counted a total of 145 cases, including nine in Germany. In Belgium, 19 cases were recorded during this period. Overall, however, the number of cases has been increasing in recent years.
