Jailed ex Brazil leader Bolsonaro in ICU with pneumonia

Jailed ex Brazil leader Bolsonaro in ICU with pneumonia
Brazil's jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro has been hospitalised with pneumonia. -AP

Brazil's imprisoned former President Jair ‌Bolsonaro has been hospitalised in an intensive care unit after being diagnosed with bronchopneumonia, according to a medical ‌note from the DF Star hospital.

Bolsonaro, 70, was taken to the hospital early on Friday with a high fever, chills and a drop in oxygen saturation, the note ‌said, adding ‌that ⁠he is being treated with antibiotics.

The ​former president's condition is serious and he is expected to remain in hospital for at least the next few days, one of the doctors treating him, Brasil Caiado, ⁠told reporters in Brasilia.

Surgery has ‌been ​ruled out for now, Caiado said.

The former president, ​who governed from ‌2019 to 2022, has a history of hospitalisations and ​surgeries related to a stabbing during a 2018 campaign event.

He had been hospitalised in January ​for ​a series of exams ​after falling and hitting his ‌head. In December, he underwent medical procedures to treat a hernia and persistent hiccups.

Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 ​presidential election to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da ​Silva.