Germany Installs Mosquito Traps After Airport Malaria Outbreak Kills Worker
Mirian Gom 
FRANKFURT, Germany – German authorities have installed mosquito traps at Frankfurt Airport after a rare outbreak of airport malaria claimed the life of one airport worker and infected five others.
Airport operator Fraport confirmed on Wednesday that an employee died after contracting malaria, while five additional airport workers are receiving treatment for the mosquito-borne disease.
“Sadly, we must confirm that one employee has died as a result of the infection,” a Fraport spokesperson said.
Health authorities are investigating how the workers became infected, as none of the six men had recently travelled to malaria-endemic countries.
The outbreak is believed to be a case of airport malaria—a rare occurrence in which infected mosquitoes are transported on international aircraft before biting people around airport facilities.
Frankfurt’s Public Health Department, alongside Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI), is analysing captured mosquitoes to determine their origin and species after installing mosquito traps around the airport.
According to the RKI, the first four infections were recorded between July 4 and July 6, making the cluster one of the country’s rare, documented airport malaria incidents.
Officials noted that the last confirmed airport malaria case at Frankfurt Airport occurred in 2023.
Health authorities stressed that the risk to the general public remains very low because malaria is not spread from person to person but through bites from infected mosquitoes.
Investigators believe an infected mosquito may have arrived aboard an aircraft before transmitting the parasite to airport workers.
According to the Malaria Consortium, malaria prevalence in Nigeria declined from 42 per cent in 2010 to 15.2 per cent in 2025.
However, Nigeria still accounts for one of the world’s highest malaria burdens, with pregnant women and children under five remaining the most vulnerable.
About the Author
Oluwafunbi Bello 
Korede Abdullah 
