Eight malaria cases in Frankfurt likely linked to three mosquitoes — Der Spiegel

In Frankfurt am Main, Germany, genetic analysis of malaria pathogens pointed to three independent cases of the infection being introduced. As Der Spiegel reports, the infections were likely linked to three different infected mosquitoes that probably arrived in Frankfurt from West Africa.

Three genetic groups of the pathogen

The study was conducted at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium. Specialists compared the relatedness of pathogens in blood samples from infected patients and assigned them to three genetically distinct groups.

Peter Tinnemann, head of Frankfurt’s public health office, said that these findings support the assumption that the infection was transmitted by three different mosquitoes. At the same time, the analysis results argue against the suspicion that local mosquitoes could have carried the Plasmodium falciparum parasite.

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Eight infected and three deaths

In summer, malaria was diagnosed in eight people: six of them were employees of Frankfurt Airport, while two others lived in the neighboring district of Schwanheim. At the end of summer, two airport employees and one district resident died.

The patients were diagnosed with tropical malaria, the most severe form of the disease, which can be fatal. So-called airport malaria occurs when infected mosquitoes arrive in Germany on aircraft from regions where malaria is widespread.