ITM helps investigate airport malaria in Germany
Following reports of malaria cases near Frankfurt Airport, ITM’s Unit of Malariology is analysing parasite DNA from patient blood samples. Contrary to reports circulating in the media, to date, no mosquito samples have been sent to ITM. The investigation at ITM builds on the institute’s experience with rare, locally acquired malaria cases.
Professor Anna Rosanas-Urgell is the head of the Malariology Unit. Her team has received blood samples from infected individuals and is investigating the origin of the malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum): “We are examining the DNA and conducting a genome analysis. We then compare the genome sequence with those in existing databases." This process enables researchers to determine the origin of the mosquito carrying the parasite.
ITM’s Malariology and Entomology Units have worked on similar investigations before. These include locally acquired malaria cases in Kampenhout, Belgium, in 2020 and an airport-associated cluster in Frankfurt in 2022.
Airport malaria is very rare. It occurs when an infected Anopheles mosquito travels by aircraft or in luggage from a region where malaria is endemic and infects someone at or near an airport. Recognising these cases quickly is important because doctors may not initially suspect malaria in a patient who has not recently travelled abroad.
Additionally, ITM contributes to two research projects on malaria among travellers. SUMMIT works with GeoSentinel, an international network of travel and tropical-medicine clinics. It collects genetic data from malaria parasites to monitor drug resistance and improve malaria treatment and control worldwide. The Belgian be-IMPACT project brings together several hospitals to strengthen malaria prevention and treatment in Belgium.
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