South Africa's Nelson Mandela is said to be responding positively to treatment for a lung infection. Source: AAP
NELSON Mandela was spending a second day in hospital Friday after responding positively to treatment for a lung infection, the latest health scare for the revered anti-apartheid icon.
South African presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said there was no update on the condition of the frail 94-year-old, who was admitted to hospital just before midnight on Wednesday.
President Jacob Zuma sought Thursday to reassure South Africans that Mandela was in good hands as his doctors reported some progress in his treatment.
"The country must not panic, Madiba is fine," Zuma told the BBC, referring to South Africa's first black president by his clan name.
"The doctors advise that former president Nelson Mandela is responding positively to the treatment he is undergoing for a recurring lung infection," Zuma's office said in a short statement Thursday.
The Nobel peace laureate was conscious when he was admitted, Maharaj, who was in prison with Mandela on Robben Island, had told AFP.
It is the second time this month that Mandela has been admitted to hospital, after spending a night for checkups on March 9.
That followed a nearly three-week hospital stay in December.
"In Zulu, when someone passes away who is very old, people say he or she has gone home. I think those are some of the things we should be thinking about," Zuma said.
Mandela is idolised in his home nation, where he is seen as the architect of the country's peaceful transition from a white-minority ruled police state to hope-filled democracy.
Nearly 20 years after he came to power in 1994 he remains a unifying symbol in a country still riven by racial tensions and deep inequality.
While Mandela the symbol bestrides South African politics, the man has long since exited the political stage and for the country's large young population he is a figure from another era.
He has not appeared in public since South Africa's football World Cup final in 2010, six years after retiring from public life.
Still, his nearly life-long struggle against apartheid resonates.
"We are deeply concerned with Nelson Mandela's health - he is a hero, I think, to all of us," US President Barack Obama said.
"When we think of a single individual that embodies the kind of leadership qualities that I think we all aspire to, the person's name that comes up is Nelson Mandela. So we wish him all the very best," Obama added.
"He is as strong physically as he has been in character and in leadership over so many decades. Hopefully he will come out of this latest challenge."
The name and location of the hospital where Mandela is being treated were not disclosed, to allow the medical team to focus on their work and to shield the family from the intense media interest.
"We know they are going through a difficult time and we want to ensure that their privacy is maintained," said Maharaj.
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