Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was hospitalized on May 6 in Sao Paulo for a skin infection and abdominal pain after traveling from Manaus, where he was already being treated, a close collaborator reported.
Bolsonaro, 69, “was admitted to the Vila Nova Star hospital in Sao Paulo with erysipelas in the left lower limb (leg) and abdominal pain,” said Fabio Wajngarten, one of his lawyers and in charge of his communication, on platform X.
What is Jair Bolsonaro’s health status?
“He will undergo laboratory and imaging tests. He is already receiving intravenous antibiotic therapy,” he added.
Earlier, deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, third son of the former president (2019-2022), reported in X that his father was responding well to antibiotics.
Along with the message, he published a photo of Bolsonaro lying in the hospital, with his eyes closed and his body partially covered with sheets. On the skin of his left leg there was a large red spot, at the level of the tibia.
Bolsonaro was admitted to Vila Nova Star, the medical center where he underwent several abdominal operations in recent years due to the consequences of a stab wound suffered in 2018 during the election campaign.
The former president had traveled to Manaus to fulfill campaign commitments ahead of the October municipal elections in Brazil.
There he was admitted on May 3 to the Santa Julia Hospital “due to dehydration and a skin infection,” that medical center reported on Sunday in a statement.
After leaving the hospital that same day, he returned on Sunday and announced his hospitalization on social media.
The former president participated in Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas state, in an event in support of the pre-candidacy of federal deputy Alberto Neto for mayor.
What is erysipelas, the infection that attacked Jair Bolsonaro?
Erysipelas is a type of bacterial infection, which usually causes fever and pain.
Bolsonaro suffered a similar infection in November 2022, shortly after his electoral defeat to the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In recent months, Bolsonaro has intensified his public activity with numerous trips around the country to support the candidates of his Liberal Party in the October elections.
He is also the subject of several judicial investigations and is politically disqualified until 2030 for misinforming about the electoral system.
His last hospitalization had been in September 2023, also in Sao Paulo, to undergo two surgeries related to the aftermath of the attack.
