Concern in Frankfurt after two malaria deaths as transport of infected mosquitoes via air travel is investigated

Following the detection of several malaria cases, including two that resulted in death, Frankfurt health authorities have stepped up mosquito surveillance in the area around Frankfurt Airport.

The investigation has focused on mosquitoes of the Anopheles genus, amid suspicions that infected specimens may have been brought into Germany on flights.

Between June and August, malaria was diagnosed in six employees at Frankfurt Airport. Two of them died.

Health authorities said the infected individuals had not previously traveled to tropical countries and had not received blood transfusions. These circumstances have raised suspicions that the disease may have been transmitted by infected Anopheles mosquitoes that arrived in the airport area by plane.

Malaria is not transmitted directly from one person to another but usually spreads when a person is bitten by an infected mosquito.

According to the Frankfurt Health Department, the new infections involve the most dangerous form of the disease, known as tropical malaria.

Residents’ concerns have grown after the latest cases were detected in the Schwanheim district near the airport. As a result, the Frankfurt Health Department has extended its mosquito-monitoring program to this area as well.

A hotline set up by health authorities is receiving around five to ten calls per hour. Residents are mainly seeking information about preventive measures and ways to protect themselves from mosquito bites.

The two patients identified most recently are not employed at the airport and have not made any long trips abroad. The head of the Frankfurt Health Department, Peter Tinnemann, said they are receiving the necessary medical care.

To determine whether the latest infections are linked to the earlier cases, the patients’ blood samples will be sent for analysis to a laboratory specializing in tropical diseases in Antwerp, Belgium.

Experts will compare the genetic profiles of the malaria parasites, known as Plasmodium. The results may show whether all the infections originated from the same source.

One key question is whether an Anopheles mosquito infected with the malaria parasite could have been repeatedly transported to Frankfurt Airport over several months.

Sven Klimpel, a parasitologist, biologist and professor at Goethe University Frankfurt, said such a scenario would be extremely unusual. He urged against drawing speculative conclusions before further data become available.

According to Klimpel, the authorities should install a dense network of mosquito traps as quickly as possible and use the scientific monitoring system that is already in place. He does not consider it likely that infected Anopheles mosquitoes bred inside the airport and then spread to the surrounding areas.