/ 11 January 2004

Mbeki suffers allergic reaction

President Thabo Mbeki would resume his normal schedule on Monday after receiving medical attention on Sunday for an allergic reaction to food, the Presidency said.

Presidential aide, Bheki Khumalo said Mbeki collapsed while addressing an ANC rally at the Harry Gwala stadium in Pietermaritzburg.

He was examined by a medical team and was admitted to the MediClinic in the city as a precautionary measure when he had difficulty breathing. He was later discharged and returned to Pretoria as scheduled, Khumalo said.

In Pretoria the President was again examined by a medical team, but it was found that there was no cause for concern.

The Surgeon-General for the SA National Defence Force, Rinuf Rensburg, said the allergy was not caused by poison. He said the president merely had allergic reaction to something that he had eaten. However, he could not confirm what Mbeki had eaten.

”Further tests would be done as a precautionary measure in a few days,” Van Rensburg said.

Initial results, he said, had shown that there was no cause for concern. – Sapa