US ex-president George H.W. Bush and wife hospitalized

Former US president George H.W. Bush has been admitted to an intensive care unit in Houston, suffering from pneumonia, Bush’s office says, adding that wife Barbara Bush has also been hospitalized.

The 92-year-old ex-president, who was initially hospitalized on Saturday, was moved to intensive care “to address an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia,” Bush’s office says in a statement.

“Doctors performed a procedure to protect and clear his airway that required sedation.”

He was originally admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital for shortness of breath, Bush spokesman Jim McGrath posted on Twitter.

.@GeorgeHWBush was taken to @MethodistHosp Sat. for shortness of breath, has responded very well to treatments. Hope to have him out soon.

— Jim McGrath (@jgm41) January 18, 2017

“President Bush is stable and resting comfortably in the ICU, where he will remain for observation,” the office says.

Early Wednesday, the former first lady Barbara Bush, 91, was also admitted to the same hospital “as a precaution after experiencing fatigue and coughing,” it said.

— AFP