How it works

1. Artesunate is rapidly converted in the body to dihydroartemisinin (DHA).
2. DHA interacts with iron/heme inside malaria-infected red blood cells.
3. This produces highly reactive compounds that damage essential proteins and membranes of the Plasmodium parasite.
4. The parasites are rapidly destroyed, which quickly reduces the number of parasites in the blood.
5. It is particularly useful in severe malaria because it acts much faster than many older antimalarial medicines.