There has been a spike in the cases of killer diseases caused by mosquitoes transported on planes across Europe, prompting concern. “Suitcase and airport malaria” - also known as Odyssean malaria, has been found in people returning from holiday. An international team of scientists has identified 145 cases between 2018 and 2022, where 105 were classified as airport malaria, 32 as luggage malaria, and for eight cases, the investigators did not distinguish between the two types.
More than a third of reported cases since 2000 peaked in 2019, according to findings published last week in the journal Eurosurveillance. Experts say Odyssean malaria refers to cases that come from the bite of an infected mosquito transported by aircraft, luggage, or parcel from an area where malaria has been found. Majority of cases found in France The study said most airport malaria cases were reported in France, Belgium, and Germany.
The patients often worked near or lived close to an international airport, with men disproportionately affected. According to the research, even though malaria was eradicated in Western Europe around 50 years ago, locally acquired infections still keep getting detected, including those transmitted by a local mosquito after it has bitten an infected returning traveler, induced cases related to other means of transmission such as mother-to-child transmission, and now Odyssean malaria. To tackle the risk of Odyssean malaria, researchers have advised the strict enforcemen.