Vatican City:

Pope Francis, who was admitted to hospital last week, has developed pneumonia in both of his lungs, the Vatican said Tuesday, adding that the 88-year-old was in “good spirits”.

“The laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture”, the Vatican said in a statement.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital last Friday for bronchitis, but the Vatican on Monday said it was changing his treatment following tests.

It said Tuesday that a “polymicrobial infection” which has come on top of “bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and which required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy, makes therapeutic treatment more complex”.

“The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon… demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,” it said.

The pontiff had part of his right lung cut away when he was 21, after developing pleurisy that almost killed him.

The Vatican had already cancelled a papal audience on Saturday and said he would not attend a mass on Sunday, although it has yet to announce plans for his weekly Angelus prayer, held on Sunday.

“Nevertheless, Pope Francis is in good spirits,” it added.

The pope spent his fifth day in hospital alternating rest with prayer and reading texts, the Vatican said.

Pilgrims pray

Francis, the head of the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to hospital after struggling for several days to read his texts in public.

It is the latest of a series of health issues for the Jesuit, who has undergone hernia and colon surgery since 2021 and uses a wheelchair due to pain in his knee.

Among the pilgrims and tourists gathered in Saint Peter’s Square on Tuesday, many said they were praying for the pope’s recovery.

“I hope that he’s getting better soon,” Birgit Jungreuthmayer, a 48-year-old Austrian tourist, told AFP.

Others gathered outside the Gemelli hospital, holding candles or saying prayers.

“I came to say a prayer for the pope so that he may recover soon. I send him my best wishes”, said Jacqueline Troncoso, a Bolivian resident in Rome.

The Vatican published drawings done by children in the hospital for Francis, as well as letters from parents asking him to pray for their sick offspring.

Francis “gives thanks for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him”, it said.

Active schedule

Despite his health troubles, Francis remains a very active pontiff, with a busy weekly schedule and regular overseas trips.

In September 2024, he completed a four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, the longest of his papacy by duration and distance.

A source within the pope’s entourage had told AFP Monday that Francis was admitted after a “very busy” two weeks, during which “he was weakened” — but insisted there was no alarm.

Francis followed last Sunday’s mass on television from hospital and sent a written address for the Angelus.

“I would have liked to be among you but, as you know, I am here at the Gemelli hospital because I still need some treatment for my bronchitis,” Francis wrote.

The Jesuit has left open the option of resigning if he became unable to carry out his duties.

His predecessor, Benedict XVI, stunned the world in 2013 by becoming the first pope since the Middle Ages to step down, citing his ailing health.

But in a memoir published last year, Francis wrote that he did “not have any cause serious enough to make me think of resigning”.

Stepping down is a “distant possibility” that would be justified only in the event of “a serious physical impediment”, he wrote.

In an autobiography published last month, he said that despite his ailments, “I carry on”.

“The reality is, quite simply, that I am old,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

China is dealing with an outbreak of the human metapneumovirus (HMPV), five years after the Covid-19 pandemic. Reports and social media posts suggest that the virus is spreading rapidly, with some claiming that hospitals and crematories are overwhelmed. Videos shared online show crowded hospitals, with some users saying that multiple viruses, including influenza A, HMPV, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Covid-19, are circulating.

There are even claims that China has declared a state of emergency, though this has not been confirmed. HMPV is known to cause flu-like symptoms and can also present symptoms similar to Covid-19. Health officials are closely monitoring the situation as the virus spreads.

A social media post by an X handle known as ‘SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19)’ wrote in a post: “China is facing a surge in multiple viruses, including Influenza A, HMPV, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Covid-19, overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums. Children’s hospitals are particularly strained by rising pneumonia and “white lung” cases.”

BREAKING:

China Declares State of Emergency as Epidemic Overwhelms Hospitals and Crematoriums.

Multiple viruses, including Influenza A, HMPV, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and COVID-19, are spreading rapidly across China. pic.twitter.com/GRV3XYgrYX

— SARS‑CoV‑2 (COVID-19) (@COVID19_disease) January 1, 2025

Meanwhile, a news report by Reuters has said that China’s disease control authority said on Friday that it was piloting a monitoring system for pneumonia of unknown origin, with cases of some respiratory diseases expected to rise through the winter. The move to establish a dedicated system is aimed at helping authorities set up protocols to handle unknown pathogens, in contrast to the lower level of preparedness five years ago when the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 first emerged.

岩屋毅外務大臣の更迭を求めます#岩屋売国大臣の勝手な売国を許さない

中国で呼吸器感染症の「HMPVウイルス」が急増、病院が満員になっている現状
これから中国が旧正月になって中国人
観光客が日本にきて感染拡大したらどうしてくれるんですか？
pic.twitter.com/RKoOuHdXgw

— サキガケ (@nihonpatriot) December 29, 2024

The National Disease Control and Prevention Administration will establish a procedure for laboratories to report and for disease control and prevention agencies to verify and handle cases, state broadcaster CCTV reported, quoting an administration official at a news conference. Data for acute respiratory diseases showed an upward trend in overall infections in the week of December 16 to 22, according to an official statement released on Thursday.

China is likely to be affected by various respiratory infectious diseases in winter and spring, Kan Biao, another official, said at the news conference. He said without elaborating that the overall number of cases this year would be smaller than last year.
Recent cases detected include pathogens such as the rhinovirus and human metapneumovirus, with cases of the human metapneumovirus among people under the age of 14 showing an upward trend, especially in northern provinces.

In a recent interview with the state-backed National Business Daily, a respiratory expert at a Shanghai hospital warned the public against blindly using antiviral drugs to fight human metapneumovirus, for which there is no vaccine but whose symptoms resemble those of a cold.

A recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Milan, Italy, has killed at least four people and hospitalised several dozen more, according to The Metro. The health authorities say that at least 53 cases have been confirmed in two regions inside the Milan metropolitan area of a severe lung infection.

In response, local authorities are taking urgent measures to control the situation, including deploying chemicals to disinfect the city’s water supply. However, despite extensive testing of water supply systems in private residences and cooling towers, the exact source of the outbreak remains unidentified, according to the news report.

The continuous investigation of finding the source of infection has left the city in great suspense, and sensitivity has developed regarding what efforts should be present to prevent further cases.

What is Legionnaires’ disease?

According to a Washington Post report, Legionnaires’ is a serious form of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella. The pathogen can also cause Pontiac fever, a flu-like illness considered to be a less serious disease.

The bacteria was first discovered decades ago when a mysterious illness sickened dozens attending a 1976 convention of the American Legion in Philadelphia. In that outbreak, 221 people were infected, and 34 died.

The disease initially alarmed health officials, who feared the sickness might spread beyond the conferencegoers. Ultimately, scientists found the bacteria bred in the water of a cooling tower of the air-conditioning system at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, where the conference was being held.

How does Legionnaires’ disease spread?

Legionella grow in biofilms lining water pipes, pipes that lead to showers, drinking faucets, and HVAC systems for cooling, said Panagis Galiatsatos, an associate professor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Centre at Johns Hopkins University.

Legionella can even grow in the tanks that hold windscreen wiper fluid in a car, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

People can become infected by breathing in mist or swallowing water into the lungs that’s contaminated with the bacteria. “Less commonly, people can get sick by aspiration of drinking water containing Legionella,” a CDC spokeswoman said Tuesday.