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Bill Clinton: Former US president being treated in hospital for ‘non-Covid infection’

Former US president Bill Clinton was admitted to hospital on Tuesday   (AP)
Former US president Bill Clinton was admitted to hospital on Tuesday (AP)

Bill Clinton has been admitted to a hospital in Los Angeles for a "non-Covid-related infection" and is being kept in for “continuous monitoring”, a spokesperson says.

On Tuesday evening, the former US president was admitted to the University of California Irvine Medical Center but he is “on the mend” after receiving treatment including antibiotics, said Mr Clinton’s spokesperson Angel Ureña.

"He is on the mend, in good spirits and is incredibly thankful to the doctors, nurses, and staff providing him with excellent care,” he added.

Mr Clinton, 75 was admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital after he complained of fatigue and diagnosed with blood infection, according to a CNN report. He was kept in the ICU for privacy and safety reasons and not because of any kind of seriousness of the illness.

He was diagnosed with sepsis, an infection that spreads to the bloodstream, which doctors believe started as a urinary tract infection.

He was "admitted to the hospital for close monitoring and administered IV antibiotics and fluids,” his physicians Alpesh Amin and Lisa Bardack said in a joint statement.

The doctors ruled out any link to his history of cardiac and pulmonary conditions, saying that they hope to have him go home soon.

"After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well," the doctors added. "The California-based medical team has been in constant communication with the president’s New York-based medical team, including his cardiologist. We hope to have him go home soon."

Mr Clinton underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2004 and in 2010 had two stents inserted in an artery after experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath.

Between these years, in 2005, Mr Clinton had to undergo lung surgery for a partially collapsed lung.

A Democrat, Mr Clinton served as US president from 1993-2001. He later campaigned for his wife Hilary Clinton in 2008 as she launched a failed bid for the party’s presidential nomination. And in 2016, Mr Clinton returned to the campaign trail when Ms Clinton was nominated to represent the party in the election won by Donald Trump.