Mandela responding to treatment

Nelson Mandela, the revered anti-apartheid icon and former South African President, has been responding “positively” to treatment at a hospital after being re-admitted with a recurring lung infection, the presidency said on Friday.

“The doctors advise that former President Nelson Mandela is responding positively to the treatment he is undergoing for a recurring lung infection,” President Jacob Zuma’s office said in a brief statement as Mandela was spending a second day in an undisclosed hospital. The 94-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate was readmitted to hospital before midnight on Wednesday for the third time in four months.

Presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj thanked media and the public for their cooperation in respecting the privacy of Mandela and his family.

Earlier this month, Mandela spent a night at a Pretoria hospital where he underwent a successful medical examination. Three months ago, he was admitted for 18 days for treatment of the lung infection and surgery to extract gallstones.

Mandela had a long history of lung problems, dating back to the time when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid. While in jail he contracted tuberculosis.