Two airport workers have died from malaria in Germany thought to be from mosquitoes brought on a plane.

A total of six workers at Frankfurt Airport contracted the illness in the mystery outbreak despite not having travelled to a malaria hotspot.

German health officials believe the bugs landed at the country’s busiest airport inside a plane.

The outbreak of the tropical disease was first spotted in mid-July, and the first death was reported the same month.

The second death occurred this month, and it was confirmed today.

Germany’s public health body, the Robert Koch Institute, said the infections were likely transmitted by an infected anopheles mosquito on an aircraft.

Traps have been set up around the airport, which saw around 63.2 million passengers last year.

Airport staff have been told about the infections and they have been advised to keep an eye on any possible symptoms.

The six infected male workers are said to have worked in different areas of the airport, BBC News reports.

Blood tests are expected to reveal whether they were targeted by one mosquito or six different ones.

Germany has not had native cases of malaria since the 1950s, the Robert Koch Institute says.

Airport malaria occurs when the mosquito has travelled on a plane, such as inside a suitcase, and bites a person or people on the aircraft or at the airport.

The previous case of airport malaria happened at Frankfurt in 2023, Deutsche Welle reports.

What is malaria?

Malaria can be treated if it is spotted early, but it continues to kill hundreds of thousands of people, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The disease is spread by infected female anopheles mosquitoes, and just one bite is enough to infect the human body with the parasite.

Symptoms include a high temperature, feeling hot, cold or shivery, sweating, headaches, confusion, muscle pain, yellow whites of the eyes and a sore throat.

Infected patients, especially children, are likely to feel extremely tired and sleepy.

The symptoms usually show between seven and 18 days after the mosquito’s bite.

The UK records imported cases of malaria each year, with around 2,106 cases associated with travel reported in 2023.

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