23-07-2026 | Airport malaria Frankfurt

In Germany, four employees of Frankfurt International Airport have fallen ill with malaria. They became ill at the beginning of July. It concerns malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, a form of malaria that can develop severely.

They were probably infected through the bite of an infected mosquito that had flown in on an aircraft from a country where malaria occurs. This is called airport malaria. Airport malaria is rare in Europe, but has previously been reported in several countries, including Germany and the Netherlands.

People in Europe usually contract malaria after travelling to a country where malaria occurs. For this reason, when someone becomes ill without having travelled to such a country, malaria is sometimes not immediately considered, which increases the risk of a severe course of illness. It is therefore important that doctors also consider malaria as a possible explanation in people with a fever who have recently been at or near an international airport.