Steward treated for malaria in Turkey’s west, days after stewardess dies of same disease

AFYONKARAHİSAR – Doğan News Agency

Only a few days after a flight attendant died of malaria in Istanbul, a fellow cabin attendant is being treated for the same disease in the western province of Afyonkarahisar. It is suspected that both caught the virus during a flight to Nigeria. 

A steward at Turkish Airlines, 31-year-old Murat Düzer was admitted to a private hospital in Afyonkarahisar with flu complaints. However, she was immediately sent to the Ahmet Necdet Sezer Research and Application Hospital after being diagnosed with malaria. 

Düzer, who is suspected to have gotten the disease while in Nigeria, is being treated at the intensive care unit of the hospital’s infections department. Düzer was reported to be responding to the treatment, in good condition and would be kept under observation for a few more days. 

Düzer’s malaria diagnosis came three days after another Turkish Airlines flight attendant, 34-year-old Selda Durmaz, died of malaria in Istanbul. 

Durmaz, who went to an Istanbul hospital complaining of fever symptoms, was treated for the flu twice. She was admitted to Turkish Airline’s personal health unit after the fever did not ease. Diagnosed with malaria, Durmaz was immediately hospitalized and treated but her body failed to respond to the treatment. Durmaz died early June 20 in Istanbul. 

Durmaz was also suspected to have gotten the disease during a flight to Nigeria the week before. 

She was laid to rest in her hometown of Turkey’s northern Black Sea province of Bartın the same day. 

According to Turkey’s General Directorate of Health for Borders and Coasts, which operates under the Health Ministry, malaria is present in Nigeria throughout the year but vaccination or medications are not obligatory, though basic precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitos are recommended.