O papa Franciscowho is spending his sixth day at the hospital to treat a respiratory infection, is alert and had breakfast on Wednesday, the Vatican said in update about the fragile health of the pontiff.
Francisco has double pneumonia, the Vatican said on Tuesday, complicating the treatment of the 88-year-old Pope, who was admitted to the Gemelli Hospital of Rome on February 14.
Double pneumonia is a severe infection that can ignite and cause scars in both lungs, making breathing difficult.
The Vatican had said earlier that the Pope had a polymicrobial infection, which occurs when two or more microorganisms are involved, adding that he would remain in the hospital for the time necessary to deal with a “complex clinical situation.”
An authority of the Vatican, who did not want to be identified because he is not allowed to talk about the Pope’s condition, said on Wednesday that Francis was not in a fan and breathes on his own.
The source stated that the Pope managed to get out of bed and sit in an armchair in his hospital room, and continued to work.
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The Vatican must provide a new update on the Pope’s condition later this Wednesday.
The Pope has been tormented by health problems in recent years, including regular influenza crises, sciatic nerve pain and an abdominal hernia that required surgery in 2023. As a young adult, he developed pleurisy and had part of a removed lung.
All the Pope’s public commitments were canceled until Sunday and he no longer has official events on the Vatican calendar.
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The Rev. Dr. Andrea Vicini, Jesuit Father and doctor, said it is remarkable that the Vatican’s statement on Tuesday referred to the pontiff as the beginning of pneumonia and not bronchopneumonia. The latter would indicate a more widespread infection, he said.
“It seems that the infection is more localized and has not spread,” said Vicini, a professor at Boston College, adding that he had no details about the Pope’s case beyond the Vatican’s public statements.
“If they identified the pathogen, as I hope they have done, they will have a well -targeted therapy,” he said. “I’m optimistic. It looks like they are controlling what is happening. ”
