Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is being treated for a type of chronic leukemia, according to hospital physicians in Milan.
He was brought to intensive care on Wednesday due to respiratory difficulties, and doctors indicated he had a linked lung infection.
Mr. Berlusconi, a four-time prime minister, and media billionaire is still the leader of his party and an elected senator at the age of 86.
Nonetheless, he has had recurring health issues since contracting Covid-19 in 2020.
Colleagues have voiced hope that he will be able to return to front-line politics as long as he leads Forza Italia, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s center-right junior partner.
While Italians awaited more information, the millionaire media tycoon’s younger brother, Paolo, informed reporters that the family was now confident: “
He was elected to Italy’s upper house, the Senate, in September of last year, although he has frequently required hospital treatment. He returned to the hospital in Milan on Wednesday, only six days after being released after days of tests.
His doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, stated that his lung infection was caused by a chronic blood problem that he had been suffering from for some time but had not yet become acute. According to previous accounts, he had begun chemotherapy to treat his leukemia.