Abstract. Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites. The parasites are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, called "malaria vectorsâ€.¹ In 2015, an estimated 212 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide. Most of the cases in 2015 were in the WHO African Region (90%), followed by the WHO South-East Asia Region (7%) and the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (2%).² Progression to severe and fatal disease is largely but not entirely conï¬ned to Plasmodium falciparum infections. In parts of the world where the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum is intense and stable, severe malaria is mainly a disease of children from the ï¬rst few months of life to the age of about 5 years, becoming less common in older children and adults as speciï¬c acquired immunity gives increasing (although always incomplete) protection.The use of artesunate , a derivative from artemisinin compound, in severe malaria was introduced in endemic areas on the basis of two large randomized clinical trials that showed a 35% reduction in death rates in adults in Asia and a 22.5% reduction in children in Africa when Artesunate was compared with quinine.³

Keywords : Severe malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, Treatment