Three people have reportedly died of malaria in Germany after an infected mosquito was believed to have arrived on a flight into Frankfurt.
The unusual cluster of tropical disease cases prompted several people to seek hospital care following flights connected to Frankfurt Airport, The Sun reported. The origin of the flights was not immediately known.
The latest death involved a person living in Schwanheim, a neighborhood north of Frankfurt Airport. An airport employee also died from malaria in August. Officials said neither person had traveled to an area where malaria is commonly found.
A Lufthansa Airbus A320 sits at Remote Stand V143 at Frankfurt Airport in Kelsterbach, Frankfurt am Main, Hesse. Frankfurt Airport (IATA: FRA, ICAO: EDDF) is Germany’s main international airport by passenger numbers and is operated by Fraport as the main hub for Lufthansa. (Getty Images)
Another German resident was also diagnosed with malaria. The illness is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito and is not passed directly from person to person.
“Both individuals had become infected with the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum, even though they had not travelled to a malaria-endemic region and had not worked at the airport,” city officials said.
Health experts refer to such cases as “airport malaria,” a rare event in which an infected mosquito is carried inside an aircraft or luggage from a malaria-endemic country, escapes after arrival in a malaria-free location and bites someone nearby.
A mosquito sucks blood from a human body, close-up. Three people have died after a mosquito became trapped on a plane to Frankfurt, Germany, officials there said. (iStock)
Airport authorities set mosquito traps around the Frankfurt facility in July as part of efforts to contain the suspected malaria outbreak, The Sun reported.
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute, the country’s public health and disease-control agency, said airport workers fell ill with malaria after being infected between July 4 and July 6.
In total, six employees contracted the disease, according to Fraport, the firm that operates Frankfurt Airport, The Express reported.
Florida mosquito-control agencies are increasing surveillance, inspections and spraying as the state reports dozens of locally acquired dengue cases. (iStock)
“We have provided comprehensive information to all employees and encourage them to consult a doctor if they experience any symptoms,” the firm said.