MILAN – The Forza Italia leader, Silvio Berlusconi, was admitted to the intensive care unit with respiratory distress due to a "chronic haematoligical problem", at Milan’s San Raffaele hospital on Wednesday morning, officials said. 

 The former Prime Minister’s condition is reported to be stable at this time however, the latest medical bulletin put out by San Raffaele hospital on Thursday stated "The infectious event falls within the context of a chronic haematological condition which he has been suffering from for some time: chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia."

According to his doctors, their current therapeutic strategy involves "treating the pulmonary infection.. and restoring the pre-existing clinical conditions."

 Before his hospitalisation at the end of March, Berlusconi, who turned 86 in September, had been hospitalised for a short period in January 2022 with a urinary tract infection. In September 2020, however, the former Prime Minister had been hospitalised for a long time after contracting Covid-19. In 2019, he had been forced to undergo an operation for an intestinal obstruction, and almost seven years ago, he had undergone open-heart surgery that led to an aortic valve replacement.

 Forza Italia have been worried about Berlusconi’s health for some time, especially at this delicate time with new appointments that have changed the party’s internal political geography. 

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