Two residents of a district near Frankfurt Airport have malaria. The authority suspects a mosquito flew to them from the airport

Two residents of Frankfurt's Schwanheim district have fallen ill with malaria. The cases appeared within a radius of five kilometers of the airport. According to the city's public health authority, they do not work at the airport and have not traveled to regions where malaria occurs. The authority therefore suspects so-called airport malaria, that is, infection from a mosquito that reached Germany by plane. Both are under medical care. The authority announced the cases on Tuesday, September 15. hessenschau ↗ t-online ↗

"Mosquitoes that reach Frankfurt via the airport are able to travel several kilometers," the head of the authority, Peter Tinnemann, told the hessenschau broadcaster. In this case, he said, it is very likely that one mosquito flew all the way to Schwanheim and infected both of them. According to Tinnemann, Germany has not recorded such an infection among residents near an airport in recent decades. hessenschau ↗

Same form as in the summer deaths

Both new cases involve falciparum malaria (malaria tropica), caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum and the most dangerous form of the disease. The airport employees had the same form. At the end of August, the authority announced that six people who worked there had been infected, and two of them died, the first in early July and the second in August. The authority is still determining whether the new cases are connected to the summer ones. t-online ↗ 20 Minuten ↗

In the first fatal case, the cause was only established after the patient had died. The authority suspects the infection was transmitted by infected Anopheles mosquitoes brought from a malaria-endemic region, for example in an aircraft's cargo hold. The airport operator Fraport has deployed mosquito traps and urged employees to see a doctor if symptoms appear and to state that they work at the airport. According to the authority, the other infected employees have already been discharged from the hospital. Tagesschau ↗

Authority expands mosquito monitoring

The authority has extended mosquito monitoring, previously limited to the airport, to Schwanheim and plans to eliminate possible breeding sites near the patients' homes. It has set up a telephone hotline for residents, which it says receives five to ten calls per hour. People are mainly asking about prevention and protection against mosquitoes. hessenschau ↗ t-online Frankfurt ↗

The authority describes the risk to city residents as very low. Malaria is not transmitted between people in everyday life, and the German climate is unfavorable for the developmental cycle of both tropical mosquitoes and the parasite. According to the authority, with early diagnosis and prompt treatment, falciparum malaria can be treated effectively. t-online Frankfurt ↗

What this means for travelers

The Robert Koch Institute describes airport malaria as very rare. It occurs when an infected mosquito gets into an aircraft or luggage, and the infection then occurs on the plane, at the airport, or in its immediate vicinity. Tagesschau ↗

A 2024 study in the journal Eurosurveillance compiled 145 cases of airport and luggage malaria reported in Europe since 1969. It classified 105 of them as airport malaria, most in France (52), Belgium (19), and Germany (9). Half of those infected lived or worked at or near an international airport, and those for whom the distance was known were on average 4.3 kilometers away from it. The authors noted an increase in reports and recommend checking whether aircraft disinsection, that is, measures against insects on board, is being observed and functioning. Eurosurveillance ↗

Tinnemann urged that malaria be kept in mind in cases of fever, but also chills, headaches and limb pain, or digestive problems, especially among people who work at or near Frankfurt Airport, spend time there, or live nearby. He also alerted doctors to the same possibility. t-online ↗

According to its wording, the appeal also applies to people who merely spend time at the airport, meaning travelers as well. According to the World Health Organization, symptoms usually appear 10 to 15 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. The authority advises residents not to worry, but to see a doctor in case of unusual symptoms. At the same time, Tinnemann emphasizes that this is an extremely rare event. WHO ↗ t-online ↗ hessenschau ↗

*Photo: Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Airport in August 2025. Author: DimiTalen / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.*